Director Robert Rodriguez and producer James Cameron took an approach to the visuals of their live-action adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's manga ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL that I never would have expected, using WETA's motion capture technology to take lead actress Rosa Salazar and enhance her features so she more closely resembles Kishiro's artwork than an average person. It makes sense, though, because Salazar's character isn't an average person. She's a cyborg.
In a newly released featurette, we're given a behind the scenes look at the process of turning Salazar into Alita. That video can be seen below.
Scripted by Cameron, Rodriguez, and Laeta Kalogridis, this take on ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL has the following synopsis:
When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past.
As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories.
But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.
Co-starring with Salazar, Waltz, and Johnson are Mahershala Ali, who plays two different characters, one of whom is Vector, who "runs and fixes matches in a gladiator-style combat game called Motorball"; Jennifer Connelly as one of the villains; Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as a friend to Hugo; Jackie Earle Haley, Ed Skrein, and Eiza González as villainous cyborgs; Leonard Wu as another cyborg; Lana Condor as an orphaned photographer; Marko Zaror as Motorball player Ajakutty; and Michelle Rodriguez as the cyborg Gelda, who is a mother figure to Alita in the manga.
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL is set to reach theatres on February 14th. In the meantime, Salazar also has a role in the Netflix hit BIRD BOX.
I have no familiarity with the Alita property at all, but I am feeling quite tempted to go see this movie next month.