Watch: James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez film, 'Alita: Battle Angel,' releases trailer

Bill Keveney | USA TODAY

Fans of filmmakers James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez got an early holiday treat Friday: the release of the first trailer for their 2018 film, Alita: Battle Angel.

Alita, scheduled to be released on July 20, is based on Japanese artist Yukito Kishiro's manga series.

Rodriguez (Spy Kids, From Dusk Till Dawn) is directing from a screenplay he is credited with writing with Cameron (Avatar, Titanic) and Laeta Kalogridis, according to IMDb.com. The cast includes Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Keean Johnson and Jackie Earl Haley. Rosa Salazar plays Alita.

Four 'Avatar' sequels now have release dates James Cameron has just announced on Saturday that dates have been set for the release of the next four "Avatar" sequels, and they all seem to be placed right around the big December holiday movie rush.

According to IMDb.com, Alita is "an action-packed story of one young woman's journey to discover the truth of who she is and her fight to change the world."

The live-action clip features computer-animated and non-animated characters.