Finally, after a long wait of 13 years, James Cameron is back with the second installment of his widely planned Avatar franchise. The sequel titled The Way of Water takes us back to the magnificent world of Pandora and gives us a glimpse of the life of Jake Sully who is now the chief of the Omaticaya. One of the key moments that excited the audience since they came to know about the movie is the return of Sigourney Weaver in a completely new role. The actress opened up about how she got hold of such a unique role in the new movie.
In the original 2009 movie, Sigourney Weaver was cast as Dr. Grace Augustine by James Cameron. By the end of the first movie, her character died during the conflict fighting for the Na’vis. But soon after when Cameron revealed the plans for numerous sequels, it was confirmed that Weaver will return to the franchise in a very different role.
Spoiler Warning!
How does Sigourney Weaver return to the James Cameron sequel?
Sigourney Weaver returned to the world of Pandora as a 14-year-old girl named Kiri who was born out of Dr. Grace Augustine’s Na’avi Avatar and is now adopted by Jake Sully and Neytiri.
The 73-year-old recently appeared in an interview with Comicbook where she discussed her journey of landing the role in the 2022 movie. According to her, there were many plans and meetings with James Cameron before to discuss how can she return to a very different role in the universe of Pandora.
“We had lunch together in 2010 and part of the reason we had lunch is we kind of wanted to spitball about this idea that maybe there’d be a girl character who had a relationship with Grace but that she felt more at home in the forest… So, we kind of talked about some basic thoughts about her”
Further, the actress also reveals how the Titanic director convinced her to return in a very strange and unbelievable way. She explains that Cameron was convinced she can play the role of Kiri very well as he always thought her mental age to be like a kid.
“We didn’t know about Spider and we certainly didn’t know any of the specifics, but just the idea, and Jim is crazy enough to cast me as a 14-year-old and as he said that day and several times afterward, ‘This is your natural age. You are 14, you are that immature. I know that about you.'”
On the other hand, despite James Cameron’s faith in Weaver, she was not fully confident about playing a 14-year-old until finally she found a way to work on it.
“He [Jim] also knows that I’m a clown. And, and so I don’t think he was as worried as I was when he told me, I was like, ‘Alright, how am I gonna do this?’ But luckily I had plenty of time to figure out not only how to do it, but how I wanted to do it, which was not imitating a 14 year old, but really finding, unearthing my unhappy 14-year-old in some ways and letting her exist in this space.
Sigourney Weaver presented an outstanding performance as Kiri in Avatar: The Way of Water. The movie has also garnered an amazing reception from the critics as well as the audience upon its release.
Also Read: Avatar: The Way of Water Cast: Who Does Kate Winslet and Zoe Saldana Play in James Cameron’s Sequel?
How did Avatar 2 perform worldwide?
The widely anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang had an amazing reception both commercially as well as critically. The VFX along with the cinematography attracted huge attention from critics worldwide. Despite the long runtime of over 3 hours, the journey as described by the fans is very beautiful and immersive.
Reportedly, it collected a sum of around $180.1 million worldwide and it is also reported that the second day watched a monstrous jump as a result of which it is hoped to earn more in the upcoming days.
Avatar: The Way of Water is running in theaters near you.
Source: Comicbook
