"Deadpool" villain Ed Skrein is in talks to join James Cameron's live-action movie "Alita: Battle Angel." "Sin City" director Robert Rodriguez is directing the ambitious adaptation of the popular Manga graphic series.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Skrein will play a character named Zapan in "Alita: Battle Angel." His character is a villainous cyborg which is in possession of a weapon called the Damascus blade.
Skrein will join "Watchmen" actor Jackie Earle Haley, "Spectre" actor Christoph Waltz, and "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" actress Rosa Salazar in "Alita: Battle Angel." Haley will play a monstrous cyborg. Waltz will play the cybersurgeon Doctor Dyson Ido, who finds the cyborg and becomes her mentor.
Salazar joined the cast of "Alita: Battle Angel" back in March. She will play the 26th-century female cyborg Alita. She will be rescued from a scrapyard and reassembled by a scientist. She only remembers her training in deadly martial arts and then becomes a hunter-warrior to track down vicious criminals.
Cameron and Jon Landau will produce "Alita: Battle Angel" for Fox under their Lightstorm Entertainment banner, as Variety reported. They are also currently in pre-production on four "Avatar" sequels.
Skrein is repped by CAA, UK's 42 agency, and Bloom Hergott. He starred in the action movie "The Transporter Refueled" in 2015 and recently played Ajax opposite Ryan Reynolds in Fox's surprise global hit "Deadpool" this year. He is currently filming the thriller "In Darkness" alongside Natalie Dormer and Emily Ratajkowski.
Fox has already set a release date for "Alita: Battle Angel" on July 20, 2018. It is planning a start of production next month in Austin, Texas. The upcoming film is expected to have a budget between $175 million and $200 million.
Watch the video of James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez confirming the upcoming movie "Alita: Battle Angel":
