Sigourney Weaver is headed back to the Avatar franchise with the upcoming Avatar: The Way of Water, and this time, she says her role will be a little unconventional.
Weaver recently sat down with her Call Jane co-star Elizabeth Banks for a discussion for Interview Magazine. During their chat, Weaver stated that she isn't allowed to let too many details slip about the long-awaited Avatar sequel, but she still managed to reveal a few notes about her role in the film. She says it's a major departure from the kind of acting she's used to. As she puts it, "So Avatar[: The Way of Water] I can’t really talk about, but I would say that it’s the biggest stretch I get to play in every possible way. I think if [director James] Cameron didn’t know me really well, he wouldn’t have cast me as something as goofy as this."
Weaver says Avatar: The Way of Water didn't just push her as a performer -- it also required more physical effort than usual. "I had to work in a completely different way to play this character, a very physical way," she says. Elsewhere in the same interview, she states that the new Avatar film required an unexpected skill-set: parkour. She says that was a special challenge given that she's one of the older performers in the film, but she remains happy to have learned something new from her role.
Sigourney Weaver, who first worked with James Cameron on the 1986 horror-action classic Aliens, previously appeared as Dr. Grace Augustine in the original Avatar. In that film, Grace is killed by the Resources Development Administration, or RDA. Weaver doesn't appear to be playing Grace in the sequel. Instead, she's been cast as Kiri, the adopted teenage daughter of protagonist Jake Sully.
Avatar: The Way of Water has been in development for some time. The sequel was announced more than a decade ago in 2010, but frequent delays have occurred, owing to everything from production troubles to a global pandemic. Earlier in 2022, a trailer for The Way of Water was released alongside Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, confirming that the film will finally arrive later this year.
Avatar: The Way of Water is headed to theaters on December 16, 2022. Those looking to catch up on the story can catch a 4K restoration of the first Avatar film in theaters on September 23.
Source: Interview Magazine