Kate Winslet has revealed that while her role in the forthcoming Avatar sequels isn’t huge, it’s crucial to the story. James Cameron has spent the last few years slaving away on the screenplays for the Avatar sequels - which have now ballooned to four movies. Now that production has finally begun on Avatar 2 & 3 – which are being shot back to back – some story and character details have started to slip out.
It was recently announced that Kate Winslet has been cast in the movie – which marks the first time she and Cameron have worked together since Titanic - and the director himself revealed she would be playing Ronal, one of the “sea people” of Pandora. This clan is referred to as the Metkayina, who live on giant reefs and are ruled over by Cliff Curtis’ Tonowari.
Related: Cameron “Cracked The Code” For Avatar Underwater Scenes
Winslet was recently talking about her excitement for the movies in an interview for Deadline’s The Actor’s Side, and also revealed the role isn’t a huge one, stating “And in reality actually I only have around a month with all the key cast. It’s not a gigantic role, it’s a very pivotal role but it isn’t gigantic.” The Avatar sequels will also mark Winslet’s first time acting with motion capture, which was a big part of her attraction to the role.
It appears a big part of the delay between the original Avatar and its sequels involved James Cameron trying to figure out how to film motion capture performances underwater. Cameron revealed in another recent interview that this technology took a long time to develop, and they only recently “cracked the code” on figuring out how to make it work. Cameron is, of course, no stranger to shooting movies in the water, following The Abyss and Titanic - and, to a lesser extent, Piranha 2: The Spawning.
Considering the fact Avatar is currently the highest grossing film of all time, Fox should feel pretty confident banking on all four sequels. That said, Avatar 2 & 3 will be shooting first, with the crew taking a break before diving into the final two installments. Cameron has been candid about the fact that if the first two movies are financially disappointing, then 4 & 5 won’t happen. Given the amount of time he’s invested in the sequels and developing the technology to film them, let's hope audiences are excited about a return to Pandora when the first Avatar sequel arrives in cinemas in 2020.
Next: Avatar 4 & 5 depends on success of 2 & 3
Source: The Actor's Side
