Alita: Battle Angel Adds Jennifer Connelly to Cast

CBR

By Rob Cave

Published Feb 7, 2017

Jennifer Connelly has joined the cast of the James Cameron-produced, Robert Rodriguez-directed adaptation of the classic manga.

It looks like the James Cameron-produced, Robert Rodgriguez-directed live-action adaptation of "Battle Angel Alita" has added Academy Award-winner Jennifer Connelly, as reported Tuesday by THR.

According to the report, Connelly, best known for her roles in "A Beautiful Mind" and "Labyrinth," will play one of the villains in the film based on Yukio Kushiro’s celebrated cyberpunk manga, which will be titled "Alita: Battle Angel." Connelly (seen above in 2014's "Noah") has past film experience with genre adaptations, playing Betty Ross in 2003's "Hulk."

THR also notes that Connelly is currently shooting "Granite Mountain," a film based on on the story of a group of firefighters who died fighting a wild blaze in Arizona, so it might take a while before the actor can join the rest of the "Alita: Battle Angel" crew, currently working on the sci-fi production in Texas.

Based on the long-running manga series created in 1990, the film is set in a post-apocalyptic future and stars Rosa Salazar as a cyborg with no memory of her past who is found in a garbage heap. She goes on to use her exceptional martial arts abilities to track down criminals as a bounty hunter.

Directed by Rodriguez, and Rosa Salazar (“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” and “Insurgent”), Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”), Ed Skrein (“Deadpool”), Mahershala Ali (“Marvel’s Luke Cage”), Jorge Lendeborg, Jr. (“Spider-Man: Homecoming”) and Keean Johnson (“Nashville”) “Alita: Battle Angel” is scheduled to arrive in theaters on July 20, 2018.