Fox is shuffling release dates on its calendar, the biggest of which is taking the Alita: Battle Angel out of the summer schedule and moving it into December. The movie was originally slated to open on July 20th, but now it will hit theatres on December 21st. That’s going to put the Robert Rodriguez movie up against Aquaman and the Transformers spinoff, Bumblebee, which is some serious competition for the manga adaptation.

Set several centuries in the future, Alita (Rosa Salazar) is a cyborg found abandoned in the scrapyard of Iron City by Dr Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz). When Alita awakens she has no memory of who she is. Learning to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield Alita from finding out about her mysterious past while her new friend, Hugo (Keean Johnson), offers to help her remember. With Alita determined to uncover the truth behind her origin, deadly forces come after her and threaten her newfound relationships. It is then that Alita discovers she has extraordinary fighting abilities. Here’s the trailer that aired at the end of last year…

The studio has also pushed back Shane Black’s reboot The Predator. The movie was originally set to open on August 3rd, but Fox has now set it for September 14th. That will put The Predator up against the action film Alpha and the Mandy Moore thriller The Darkest Minds.

Not much is known about the forthcoming foray into the Predator franchise, but there is plenty to be excited about – even a cursory glance at IMDb confirms that. In essence, it’s got some of the best and most underrated talent in sci-fi attached. For starters, Shane Black is writing and directing, Thomas Jane is starring, along with Edward James Olmos, Olivia Munn and even Jake Busey.

Speaking to Pop Culture, Jake Busey revealed a little bit about the focus of the film, and it seems this one reveals what the aliens are after on earth.

“This one definitely falls in line with the original franchise in that it does focus on the technology that the Predators have. It focuses on what the goal of the Predators is, and what their modus operandi, and why they come to the planet, and that type of thing. It’s definitely in line with the original franchise.”

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