Rosa Salazar Lands Lead In Robert Rodriguez & James Cameron's 'Battle Angel Alita'

In addition to making his name with blockbuster spectacles, James Cameron is also known for making movies that have tough or complex female lead roles. Ripley in “Aliens,” Sarah Connor in the “Terminator” franchise, and Neytiri in “Avatar” all fit this model (though, we’ll politely overlook everything about Jamie Lee Curtis‘ character in “True Lies“) and that continues with “Battle Angel Alita.” The long-developing manga adaptation is now gearing up with Cameron working behind-the-scenes, and Robert Rodriguez directing, and now the film has found its lead actor.

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Rosa Salazar (“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” next year’s big screen “CHiPs” reboot) has won the role, beating out contenders Maika Monroe (“It Follows,” “Independence Day: Resurgence“), Zendaya (“K.C. Undercover,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming“) and Bella Thorne (“Shake It Up,” “Scream: The TV Series,” “The Duff“). Presumably this means 20th Century Fox might be getting closer to green-lighting the movie about a female cyborg, who is rescued from a scrapyard, and trained to become a bounty hunting warrior. But right now, the goal is trying to wrestle down the budget $175-200 million.

And that’s why there’s no release date for the movie…yet. While I’d normally say to keep an eye on next month’s San Diego Comic-Con for more news, with Fox skipping the event this year, you’ll just have to keep your ear to the ground. [Collider]