In addition to making their lead a performance capture character (played by Rosa Salazar), one of the earliest concepts for the design of movie was the idea that she would have eyes significantly larger than a normal human’s – a callback to the look of Alita in the Manga comic where she originated.
In the making of Alita: Battle Angel, director Robert Rodriguez, writer/producer James Cameron, and the artists designing the film made some bold moves when it came to the look of the titular protagonist.