Jennifer Connelly cast as villain in James Cameron's Alita: Battle Angel based on Manga comic

Published: 21:24 GMT, 7 February 2017 | Updated: 22:36 GMT, 7 February 2017

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Jennifer Connelly is about to try her hand at being the bad guy.

The 46-year-old has been cast as a villain in James Cameron's upcoming Alita: Battle Angel, according to THR.

She joins an already impressive cast of Jackie Earle Haley, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Christoph Waltz, Eiza Gonzalez and Lana Condor.

Bad guy: Jennifer Connelly has been cast as a villain in James Cameron's upcoming Alita: Battle Angel

Rosa Salazar meanwhile is set to play the title role.

The film is based on the Manga comic, set in a dystopian future populated by cyborgs.

Alita, a female cyborg, is discovered on a scrapheap by a 'cybermedic doctor' (played by Waltz) who rebuilds and cares for her.

She cannot remember anything of her previous life, save for her martial arts skills, which leads her to become a Hunter Warrior bounty hunter.

Never a utopia: The film is based on the Manga comic, set in a dystopian future populated by cyborgs

It is not yet known what role Connelly will play, except that it is an antagonist, along with Skrein and Haley.

Cameron first became interested in the project back in 2000, after being introduced to the comic by Guillermo Del Toro.

However other projects such as Avatar - and it's four sequels - got in the way, and eventually lead to him handing the directing reigns to Robert Rodriguez.

However Cameron is staying on as producer, along with Jon Landau.

Oscar-winner Connelly is also currently filming Granite Mountain, the true story of the battle against a wildfire in Prescott, Arizona in June 2013 that resulted in 19 crew fatalities.

She stars as Amanda Marsh, the wife of superintendent Eric; the film is slated for release in September 2017.