20th Century Fox has set James Cameron and Jon Landau to produce a live-action movie version of “Alita: Battle Angel” with Robert Rodriguez in negotiations to direct.

The movie is based on the Japanese manga and graphic novel series “Battle Angel Alita” by Yukito Kishiro, first published in 1990. The story is set in the 26th century and centers on the title character — an amnesiac female cyborg who is rescued from a scrapyard by a doctor, who names her after his deceased cat. The rebuilt Alita, remembering only her training in a deadly martial art, becomes a hunter-warrior, tracking down and eliminating vicious criminals.

The film will explore a young woman’s journey of self-discovery and finding love.

“Robert and I have been looking for a film to do together for years, so I was pumped when he said he wanted to do ‘Battle Angel,'” Cameron said. “He’s very collaborative and we’re already like two kids building a go-kart, just having fun riffing creatively and technically. This project is near and dear to me, and there’s nobody I trust more than Robert, with his technical virtuosity and rebel style, to take over the directing reins. We’re looking forward to learning a lot from each other while we make a kick-ass epic.”

Rodriguez said in a statement: “’Battle Angel’ is an incredibly rich and vibrant epic in the tradition of Jim Cameron’s spectacular, character-driven films. Getting to work from Jim’s terrific and visionary script while learning the cutting edge techniques he’s pioneered is a master class in filmmaking. It’s an honor to explore the world of Alita along with Jim and Jon, whose films have impacted me for decades.”

Rodriguez’ directing credits include “El Mariachi,” “Desperado,” “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” “From Dusk till Dawn,” “Sin City” and the Spy Kids films.

Cameron and Landau, who will produce for Fox under their Lightstorm Entertainment banner, are also currently in pre-production on the three “Avatar” sequels