Zoe Saldaña is the second-highest-grossing film actress in Hollywood behind Scarlett Johansson and fourth overall among actors. Saldaña has an impressive record of starring in four billion-dollar movies, which include the Avengers and Avatar series. The Guardians of the Galaxy actress played Neytiri in James Cameron’s epic science fiction film, Avatar, and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.
Avatar was released in 2009 and The Way of Water in 2022. After the first film, Cameron and 20th Century Studios announced plans for four more Avatar sequels. Recently, Disney, who owns 20th Century, announced delays in the release dates of the three planned Avatar sequels, and Saldaña has concerns about these dates.
Zoe Saldaña Jokes About Aging Out of Her Role
In June, Disney announced the release dates of its upcoming Marvel, Star Wars, and other major movie projects. Among them were the Avatar sequels starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña. Avatar 3, originally scheduled for release two years after The Way of Water on December 20, 2024, was now moved to December 19, 2025. Similarly, Avatar 4 was delayed to December 21, 2029, and Avatar 5 to December 19, 2031.
Saldaña took to Instagram stories to share her humorous take on the date changes. Under the news article, the Special Ops: Lioness actress sarcastically noted that she would be 53 years old when the fifth Avatar movie comes out in 2031. She also mentioned the interesting fact that she was just 27 when the production of the first Avatar film began in 2005.
Interestingly, both the released Avatar films faced significant delays primarily due to a lack of necessary technology. Avatar was supposed to start production right after Titanic in 1997 and aimed for a 1999 release. Similarly, The Way of Water was also planned for a 2014 release, instead, it was released more than a decade after the first film.
Producer Sets High Expectations for Zoe Saldaña’s Upcoming Avatar Films
The first Avatar movie explored the story of human intrusion into the habitable moon, Pandora, and how it endangered the Na’vi tribe. The second movie explored a renewed human threat and how Jake Sully’s Na’vi family seeks refuge with the aquatic Metkayina clan. Besides Zoe Saldaña, Avatar producer Jon Landau also took to X/Twitter to share his opinion on the dates and he was rather excited.
In his tweet, Landau assured fans that the production team is dedicated to exceeding audience expectations and delivering top-quality science fiction movies. There’s no doubt that the Avatar sequels will captivate the audiences visually, as Landau tweeted:
Each Avatar film is an exciting but epic undertaking that takes time to bring to the quality level we as filmmakers strive for and audiences have come to expect. The team is hard at work and can’t wait to bring audiences back to Pandora in December 2025. pic.twitter.com/DrFX01qzTa
— Jon Landau (@jonlandau) June 13, 2023
The Adam Project actress’s concern genuinely hits all cast members who have undergone significant changes in their lives since the first movie. If Avatar 5 does indeed premiere on its said date in 2031, it will mark a nearly 22-year gap between the first and final installments.
Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water are now available for streaming on Disney+.
Source: People
