James Cameron has been trying to direct the sci-fi action film Battle Angel Alita for years. But then, a little thing called Avatar happened. So now, instead of waiting another decade to helm the anime, he recruited Robert Rodriguez to do the honors.


Deadline reports Cameron and producing partner Jon Landau have hired Rodriguez, director of From Dusk Till Dawn, Desperado, Spy Kids and Sin City, to direct the live-action adaptation of the popular graphic novel by Yukito Kishiro.

Set in the 26th century, Battle Angel Alita follows a female cyborg who becomes a deadly assassin.


“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,” James Cameron said in a press release. “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.”

“Battle Angel is an incredibly rich and vibrant epic in the tradition of Jim Cameron’s spectacular, character-driven films,” Rodriguez added “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.”

20th Century Fox will release the film, which has no release date set.

[Deadline]

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