Empire Magazine has exclusively revealed who Sigourney Weaver will be playing in Avatar: The Way of Water, and it’s not who you think. Weaver played Dr. Grace Augustine in the first Avatar movie way back in 2009. But as her character died a heroic death, she won’t be returning for the sequels. Instead, Weaver is playing someone entirely unexpected.
Weaver will be playing Kiri – the adopted Na’Vi teenage daughter of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña). Weaver says; “I think we all pretty much remember what we were feeling as adolescents. I certainly do. I was 5’ 10” or 5’ 11” when I was 11. I felt strongly that Kiri would feel awkward a lot of the time. She’s searching for who she is. I was thrilled to be given that challenge by Jim (Cameron).”
Director James Cameron says; “As an acting challenge, it’s big. We’re gonna have a 60-something actor playing a character [decades younger than] her actual biological age. Sig thought it was all kinds of fun.”
Getting into that mindset meant Weaver workshopping with a group of teenage girls to channel some youthful energy – and the results were remarkable. “Sigourney just became younger. She looked younger, she had more energy, and she never quite stepped out of Kiri for our whole capture period. She had a glow on her face and lightness in her step and a fun spirit,” added Cameron.
Cameron has been promising for a long, long time that the Avatar sequels will push the boundaries of technology, as the first one did. Much has been made of the underwater sequences in The Way of Water, and we’ve been promised an unparalleled big-screen experience.
While we wait for Avatar: The Way of Water to blow our faces off, check out our guide to the best fantasy movies.