Spoilers ahead for Alita: Battle Angel

If you've already had a chance to check out an early screening of 20th Century Fox's visually stunning and action-packed anime/manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel, you might be wondering just how they managed to pull of the title character's transformation. (If you are interested but haven't seen the film yet, I'd skip the following featurette since it has some mighty story spoilers.) Luckily, a newly released behind-the-scenes video shows how Weta's technology and filmmaking know-how complemented Rosa Salazar's stunning performance in order to bring Alita to life.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez from a screenplay by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis, based on the manga series "Gunnm" by Yukito Kishiro, Alita: Battle Angel also stars Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, and Keean Johnson, and opens February 14th.

Watch the behind-the-scenes featurette for Alita: Battle Angel below, keeping the spoiler warning in mind:

Here's the official synopsis:

From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment. 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.

And for more on Alita: Battle Angel, be sure to check out these recent write-ups:

alita-battle-angel-poster