Avatar: The Way of Waterhas been thirteen years in making. Ever sinceJames Cameronintroduced fans to the vibrant world of Pandora in 2009Avatar, the fans couldn’t wait to see more of his world. Though it took the celebrated director over a decade to perfectly translate his underwater vision on screen. Along with the fans, his cast had also been very patient, about his process having full confidence in his vision. In a new interview withGood Morning America, actorZoe Saldanaspoke about the long wait, the filming process, and her hopes for the upcoming feature.
Speaking to the hosts Saldana shared her excitement revealing that she’s “emotional” about the new release. “I’m all over the place. It’s been something that has been in the making for thirteen years since we released the first movie,” she shared. She addressed the long wait and revealed that she finished filming the feature in 2018, further adding, “And throughout all that time we would reach out to Jim [Cameron] and he would reach out to us, letting us know where he was in terms of writing it, completing it, and finally getting ready to go into pre-production. So to be here, even for me, is a dream come true…and I was in it!” she laughed.
When probed about the actor’s involvement in franchises that have earned billions at the box office, Saldana comfortably left box office speculations to studio executives adding that she relies on hope. She said, “I hope it’s well received because it was certainly special for me to be a part of it and to have worked with the people I’ve worked with to be aging with them growing with them in this industry the opportunities that it opened for me but also the conversation that it started even for somebody like me about the environment.” Saldana plays Neytiri, a Na’vi native who teaches Jake the ways of her tribe and eventually falls for him, in the upcoming feature their family has grown to include kids, and just like the fans, the characters have also evolved in the past decade.
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The actor commends Cameron’s vision and dubbedAvatar: The Way of Watera “special story.” “It’s about water, if there’s one thing we know about Jim is that he’s always had this affinity with the ocean and if the ocean is 80 percent of the planet that means that we don’t know what 80 percent of this world that Pandora is and if Pandora is an inspiration of our planet Earth then it’s just a lot more to discover,” she adds. She went on to recount her own experience with the original movie that made her more conscious about climate change and its effects on our planet, “Avatar was like a first in so many ways for me so, I’m hoping that (the sequel) it’s well received.”
The actor also spoke about the “scary yet rewarding” experience of filming the underwater scenes for the cast. “If there’s one thing about Jim, he will present the challenge, but it’s not like he doesn’t present the resources as well. He surrounds you with world-renowned people and within five months of you taking this training you get to discover a side of you that you thought you’d never ever see about yourself so it’s kind of rewarding.”
Avatar: The Way of Waterpremieres December 16. You can check out Saldana’s comments below:
