Robert Rodriguez To Direct Alita: Battle Angel For James Cameron

Looks like a passion project of James Cameron is on its way to the big screen at last - but without James Cameron calling the shots.

Robert Rodriguez is in negotiations with Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment to direct ‘Alita: Battle Angel,’ according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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Cameron has been intending to adapt Japanese manga comic ‘Battle Angel Alita’ for some time, at one point planning to make it his follow-up film to ‘Titanic,’ but of course opted to make ‘Avatar’ instead.

Now, with Cameron’s foreseeable future taken up with ‘Avatar’ sequels, it seems he’s decided the time is right to relinquish the reins to the project - and the ‘Sin City,’ ‘Grindhouse’ and ‘Machete’ director is in line to pick them up.

Written by Yukito Kishiro and first published in 1990, ‘Battle Angel Alita’ is a dystopian SF which centres on a female cyborg bounty hunter, the Alita of the title, who has lost her memory.

Cameron says, “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.’ 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.”

Meanwhile, Rodriguez says, “’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 [Landau, producer], whose films have impacted me for decades.“

No production or release dates have been announced yet.

Picture Credit: Viz Media, WENN