“Robert Rodriguez is stepping out of his comfort zone with Alita: Battle Angel.  The filmmaker, known for working in the mid-budget range on films like 2005’s Sin Cityand the Spy Kids franchise, is stepping decidedly into big-budget territory with the upcoming anime adaptation.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge to do a much bigger movie.  I usually don’t do movies beyond a certain budget,” he told The Hollywood Reporter this weekend at New York Comic Con, noting more moderate budgets have allowed him to have more creative freedom. “I thought if I can keep it under a certain budget, if I just make it look good, I’m going to cast who I want, do whatever I want.  I like living there.”

THR reported in 2016 ahead of filming that Alita was budgeted in the $175 million-$200 million range. The film has long been in development, with James Cameron attached to direct since the mid-2000s.  So Rodriguez had big shoes to fill taking over for Cameron, who opted to focus on the sequels to 2009’s Avatar…”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alita-robert-rodriguez-fears-letting-james-cameron-down-1150350