 Following his success with the film Titanic, the director James Cameron teamed up with Eglee, with whom he had previously worked on projects including Piranha II: The Spawning. The two formed a production company and began working on ideas for a television series, considering several options including a family drama before deciding on the idea of Dark Angel. Cameron said they began with the idea that Max would be genetic construct who "looked normal on the outside but was different on the cellular, genetic level. We explore what that could mean." Max followed a long line of strong female characters in Cameron's work, including Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley. Cameron said "it's a win / win situation" as "women respond to characters who appear strong and capable" and young male audiences "want to see girls kick ass". Later they decided to set the series in a post-social collapse world, saying that the hysteria surrounding Y2K served as inspiration for the 'Pulse' in the series which has destroyed all computers in the United States. Working titles for the series included "Experimental Girl" and "Maximum Girl". The project marked Cameron's debut into television; Cameron would be working as a writer and executive producer, rather than directing.
