James Cameron finally gave up on helming a Battle Angel Alita film last fall when he named Robert Rodriguez as his successor for the adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s manga series he’s been trying to get off the ground for years. Cameron’s not exactly walking away from the project though—he’s set to co-write the screenplay with Shutter Island scribe Laeta Kalogridis. And it looks like Cameron et. al. have just found their lead actress, as Collider just broke the news that Rosa Salazar (Man Seeking Woman, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) will play the titular cyborg.
Salazar was on the short list for the lead role along with Disney breakout star Zendaya, who recently nabbed a part in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and It Follows’ Maika Monroe, whom we’ll see next month in Independence Day: Resurgence. Salazar’s built up her action flick cred over the last couple of years; she starred in The Divergent Series: Insurgent earlier this year, and will also appear in the Scorch Trials sequel, The Death Cure.