James Cameron has been in various stages of pre-production with a film adaptation of the property for more than a decade (see “ James Cameron to Make 'Battle Angel Alita'”), with the last news coming in 2013 (see “We're Still Waiting Dept.: 'Battle Angel Alita' in 2017?”).

"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 told THR. "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."

A script was written by Laeta Kalogridis (Nightwatch, Shutter Island, Terminator Genisys, Birds of Prey) more than 10 years ago, but it is unknown if that version will be used for the current project.

The post-apocalyptic story focuses on an amnesiac cyborg who is found in a garbage dump by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds her. The only thing she remembers is her extensive martial arts skills, which she uses in a new career as a bounty hunter.