Young Avatar: The Way of Water stars talk working with director James Cameron. Starring Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington as Neytiri and Jake, the 2009 film Avatar became a cultural sensation upon its release, introducing audiences to the stunning planet Pandora. The highly anticipated sequel, which is over a decade in the making, will once again follow Neytiri and Jake as they seek to raise and protect their growing family. Given that focus, Avatar: The Way of Water will bring several younger cast members into the fold including Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, Chloe Coleman, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, and Bailey Bass.
Flatters will play Jake and Neytiri's oldest biological son, Neteyam, in the sequel film, with Dalton, Coleman, Bliss, and returning franchise actor Sigourney Weaver playing his adopted and biological siblings. Bass will play Tsireya, the daughter of Kate Winslet's character Ronal and Cliff Curtis' character Tonowari. As the next generation of Na'vi, the new actors have the daunting task of continuing Cameron's Avatar franchise through four more films. During a conversation with The Hindu, Bass and Flatters discuss working with Cameron, describing the supportive environment he created on set and his detail-oriented approach, which still left room for actors to "have the audacity to make bold decisions" while filming. See what the actors had to say below:
Bass: "What I love about Jim [Cameron] is that whenever I’m doing an emotional scene, he will come and whisper to me. He understands the tone, but that makes me feel very protected, because there is a fine line between the actor and the person. And if I push it too far over the edge, then the experiences are going to affect me and my mental health personally."
Flatters: "He likes his actors to be people that have the audacity to make bold decisions. Jim then takes it all and adds chaos and risks to their performance. Sometimes he would want something extremely specific and precise, a really micro detail, and that was always interesting."
Jake And Neytiri's Children Are The Future Of The Avatar Franchise
Cameron's trust in the young actors is evident in Bass and Flatters' comments about the director's faith in their risks while filming and emotional commitment to their scenes. Their description of the on-set environment is promising for the Avatar franchise, which is set for a five-film run and potentially even more. With several of the Avatar sequels having been filmed simultaneously, Cameron and the studio have already made significant investments into the evolving franchise before Avatar: The Way of Water's release.
Saldaña and Worthington will star in most, if not all, of the Avatar sequels, but the younger cast offer new opportunities for growth in future films. While Avatar earned massive critical acclaim, some viewers felt the story was lackluster and cliché, and Avatar: The Way of Water has garnered similar comments since its early debut. Future films can push the envelope with their focus on the next generation of Na'vi children, which could create space for more complex storylines in subsequent movies.
As the first mixed indigenous Na-vi and human children, Jake and Neytiri's kids will have a unique set of circumstances to navigate and huge shoes to fill in terms of their parents' legacy. In addition, the compelling connection between their adopted daughter Kiri (Weaver) and Weaver's deceased character in Avatar sets up another point that could be explored in more detail in future movies. With Avatar: The Way of Water set up for success in the box office when it releases later this month, it's likely that the younger Avatar cast will have ample time to delve into their characters' fascinating storylines, and given their reported level of comfort on set, perhaps Avatar 5 will not be the end of the road for the new franchise actors.
Source: The Hindu
