Avatar Again

On the eve of Avatar: The Way of Water, one of the most-anticipated sequels in film history, Zoe Saldaña is a woman with a lot of work to do.

Never an actress who rushes to take up film scripts, Zoe Saldaña very often opts for the ‘less is more’ approach – thus, a string of colossal projects decorate a CV that is notable for gaps in between. Certainly in terms of the film that set her on her way to a string of big-budget projects from where she rarely now strays, the influence of James Cameron’s ground-breaking Avatar has been present for well over a decade now.

So it is with no small amount of relief that, finally, a sequel has arrived… and not just one. In what may turn out to be the biggest box office series ever, production of four more Avatar movies is in motion, through to Avatar 5, due for release in 2028, no less. “The project is huge, but it has to be,” says Saldaña. “You have a film that took $3billion at the box office, and yet here we are 13 years on. Perhaps it’s only right we’re getting this many sequels done if it’s taken us this long up until now!”

While details over Avatar 2, or The Way of Water to give it its official title, are sketchy, what’s clear is this is no rushed project, nor is Saldaña taking her return lightly.

“I was very nervous because sequels can be dangerous, and we were feeling the pressure. I think the first couple of days, we all had moments of, ‘Can we do this again? What was the secret ingredient?

Do you know, does anyone? Should we just leave it there, not mess with it?’ There were a lot of nerves. It has been a long while.

“Yet [director and writer] James Cameron is in charge and his vision is present and trustworthy. And the film is very different from the first, way different… different planet different.”

While we are now in a new era of film that feels a world away from the CGI-laden original, the appeal of welcoming a new generation of filmgoer to the mystery of Eurasia is one Saldaña is relishing.

“We still retain the curiosity and interest of the millions of people who went out to watch it first time around, but the continuation of this story will bring new eyes to the story, and that’s a thrill for me.”