Christoph Waltz is set to star in ‘Alita: Battle Angel’.
The 59-year-old actor is in early negotiations to appear in James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation of the popular manga graphic novels.
Set in the 26th century, the movie tells the story of a female cyborg, played by Rosa Salazar, who is discovered in a scrapyard by a scientist. With no memory of her previous life except her deadly martial-arts training, the woman becomes a bounty hunter, tracking down criminals.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Waltz will play Doctor Dyson Ido, the cybersurgeon who finds the cyborg and becomes her mentor.
The film is set to be released in July 2018.
The role will be a change for Waltz as he normally plays villains and he recently said how he could spend the rest of his life "playing bad guys" – because they are all different.
He said: "The eternal villain thing is completely indifferent. I am interested in the details. What colours on the moral spectrum a role has. It could last me a lifetime just playing villains, but they must be different from each other."
Waltz is famous for his villainous roles, with memorable performances including being Ernst Stavro Blofeld in James Bond film ‘Spectre’, playing Cardinal Richelieu in ‘The Three Musketeers’ and most recently bringing to life the merciless Belgian captain Leon Rom in ‘The Legend of Tarzan’.