By Thomas Chau in New York City

The ultimate battle is upon us. Alien vs. Predator.

For ages, fans have waited for the war of the monsters to happen on screen, with the “Alien vs. Predator” idea already surfacing in the form of comic books, video games, and even toys. “Alien vs. Predator” stars Sanaa Lathan as explorer and adventurer Alexa “Lex” Woods, who leads an expedition through the cold depths of Antarctica. Little does she know, however, that her team will be caught in an epic war between two supernatural species, where the ultimate winner becomes man’s ultimate enemy.

Sanaa was in New York City recently to talk about the picture and below is what she had to say. “Alien vs. Predator” is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and co-stars Lance Henriksen and Raoul Bova.

Q: Sanaa, now that you’ve done this, do you see yourself wanting to do more action films?

SANAA: For me, it’s more the role. I love acting and I love the challenge of acting. I like a developed character. If it comes in the package of an action film, then so be it, it would be great.

Q: Have you seen your action figure yet?

SANAA: I saw my action figure. I saw a mock-up of it. If you're going to have an action figure, you're going to have to make her...I'm a Virgo, so I'm a real perfectionist and anal. I'm like, "That's not what my hair looks like!"

Q: So did you go back and watch any of the Alien or Predator movies to prepare yourself for this film?

SANAA: I got the part at the last minute. I auditioned, and then the next week, I had to be in Prague shooting. So I didn't get to see the movies. I had seen a couple of the "Alien" films when I was younger, but I didn't get to see "Predator" until halfway through shooting. It was great to get an education while I was shooting because it made me excited to be part of this legacy.

Q: Why was it last minute?

SANAA: I don't know. [Writer/director] Paul Anderson auditioned every up and coming actress in the world. Apparently, I wasn't even up for it. Someone told me that someone involved had just seen "Out of Time" and that that's how I got the audition. I got the call on a Friday, and I will never forget this, I was feeling sick because I just got off the press tour for "Out of Time" and my agent called me on a Friday to tell me that I had an audition the next day. I told him I didn't want to do it and I don't want to do an audition on Saturday. He told me it was last minute and they have a girl that they screen tested, but they were not sure about. I didn't even have time to read the script. Sometimes, when you don't care, people are attracted to that. If I had time to get all nervous about this I might have brought that with me. Literally four days [later], I was going to Prague.

Q: How much of the monsters were CGI and how much of them were robotic?

SANAA: One of the things that Paul prides himself on is that everything isn't CGI. He did a lot of scenes with me and the actual creature in the room with me. I think that makes for a scarier end product because I think the audience can tell when it's computer generated. There were a lot of times when I was working with Tom Woodruff, who was in the Alien suit and had been for all the movies. For the Predator, we had a seven-foot-four ex-basketball player in the suit.

Q: Did you feel like you were filling in Sigourney Weaver's shoes?

SANAA: I'm not filling her shoes. I'm just doing a part that has the same monsters, but it's a completely different movie and a completely different character.

Q: Do you like watching these movies?

SANAA: I'm just a wimp when it comes to scary movies. I'm the kind of person that will be up all night wondering what's in my apartment.

Q: So will you have any trouble watching "Alien vs. Predator"?

SANAA: I saw it last week and I did [have trouble]. When you're on a set, it can be very tedious and slow. It's just not as big as when you see it on film. The action is so intense and scary. I realized when I was watching it that it wasn't my type of movie.

Q: Which do you find more impressive: The Alien or the Predator?

SANAA: I think the creators of both of those were real geniuses. No matter how long I was on the set, I never got used to seeing either of them. When the Predator would walk around the corner, even on the last day of shooting, it's just scary. The Alien is just gross, scary, and they were just genius in making them because there is something in a human being that looks at them and sees it as a cockroach. You can never feel nurturing towards the cockroach.

Q: How was your experience at San Diego's Comic Con?

SANAA: It was a trip. At the end of the day they told me I had a panel to do. I thought it would be a room with about a 100 people in it. They had 6,000 people! I said, "Why didn't you prepare me for this?!"

Q: Both franchises have very fervent fans and so are you prepared to deal with that kind of attention?

SANAA: My friend said to me, when I finished doing the movie and I came back to New York, “Sanaa, you have a 10,000 foot tidal wave, out at a distance, coming at you.” That's an awful image. I don't know if I'm prepared. I just hope that people like the movie.

Q: What superhero power would you want to have?

SANAA: I always say that I wish had the ability to have that genie thing and then be in bed. Maybe I would like to fly.

"Alien vs. Predator" opens in theaters August 13th.