Alita Battle Angel will open across Chinese mainland on Feb 22. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In one month, Chinese fans will reunite with James Cameron on the silver screen thanks to the upcoming sci-fi epic Alita: Battle Angel.

The film, adapted from the Japanese manga Gunnm (gun dream) by Yukito Kishiro, will open across the Chinese mainland on Feb 22.

Cameron read the Japanese comic series under the recommendation of Mexican director Guillermo del Toro in 1999, and became fascinated by the story, which depicts a cyborg warrior. He purchased the copyright to Alita, but had to invite Robert Rodriguez, an American director from Texas, to direct it, as Cameron was busy directing Avatar at the time and also served as the executive director and one of the scriptwriters for Alita.

Recently, the film's animation director Mike Cozens and visual effects creative director Eric Saindon visited Beijing to unravel the advanced technology behind the scenes.