New Avatar 2 on set photos show Sigourney Weaver doing some performance capture work, suggesting she's playing a Na’vi in the sequels. Production on the long-delayed movies is back up and running in New Zealand following a prolonged shut down caused by the coronavirus. Director James Cameron and his team have reportedly been shooting using new technology, invented just for the Avatar universe, which will reportedly allow the underwater shots to look completely realistic, despite using extensive CGI. Avatar 2 will be just the first of four sequels Cameron is planning, and is set to release in 2022.
The upcoming shoot includes a number of returning actors, with Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Zoe Saldana (Neytiri), Joel David Moore (Norm), Stephen Lang (Quaritch) and Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine) all confirmed to reprise their roles. There is uncertainty over the role a number of the actors will play, considering that Lang and Weaver's characters were killed off at the end of the first movie. Previous set photos showed Weaver and Moore wearing their wardrobe from the first film, confirming that they will appear in flashbacks in at least one scene, but whether they will return in their Avatar form, or in new roles as Na'vi is unclear.
Now, producer Jon Landau has shared new photos of Weaver working on the movie, hailing her commitment to filming the actions scenes in the sequels. The photos show Weaver performing underwater as well as in the ball pit used for underwater scenes, while wearing motion capture sensors on her face. Besides being an impressive display of dexterity for a 70-year-old, the photos point to the fact that Weaver may be playing a Na'vi in the upcoming sequels. You can see the photos, from Landau's Instagram page, below.
The motion capture sensors might provide the answer as to how Weaver is able to return, in non-flashback scenes, for this movie. Given that she is wearing them, she is clearly playing either a Na'vi or an Avatar. At the end of the first film, Jake attempted to transfer Grace's consciousness to her avatar form, but was unable to do so, leaving her to die.
This means Cameron has either found a way to retcon Dr. Augustine's death at the end of Avatar, or she will be playing a different character, who is either in an avatar or a member of the Na'vi. The most likely situation is that Weaver is playing a new character, or one related to her original avatar in the first film. Either way, Weaver's presence in Avatar 2, as human, Na'vi or avatar, is a welcome one, given her fruitful history with Cameron, having not only starred in Avatar for the director, but also Aliens, regarded as one of the best movie sequels in history.
Source: Jon Landau/Instagram
