With Avatar: Fire and Ash arriving in theaters soon, fans are about to see Sigourney Weaver return to Pandora as Kiri, the soulful teen adopted by Jake Sully and Neytiri.
Kiri’s origins trace back to Dr. Grace Augustine’s Na’vi Avatar, which brings Weaver back into the world she first stepped into all the way back in Avatar. It also reunites her once again with James Cameron, a creative partnership that now spans decades.
During a recent Avatar: Fire and Ash press conference, Weaver explained how meaningful that partnership remains. She gave Cameron heartfelt credit for shaping an environment where actors can immerse themselves fully in their characters.
“It’s been one of the greatest gifts to work with James Cameron again and again and again,” Weaver said. “I have to say that becoming a 14-year-old and getting back into that space, which for me was a challenging time.
“I’m so grateful that I know from the beginning that Jim has children, and this is also inspired by his life. And he loves his actors, and he gives us such a feeling of safety and encouragement in exploring every aspect of a scene.
“We have a lot of fun,” she continued. “On Aliens, we didn’t really have fun because we were really up against it, but that wasn’t our fault.”
Her mention of Aliens brought a quick response from Cameron, who added, “It was less fun, trust me.” Weaver picked it back up from there.
“But a great movie, nevertheless. And to have the opportunity to come back and work with Jim again and again, it’s just been the greatest artistic present, and it was always my greatest goal, even when I started out, was to work with the same people again and again.
“I just thought that sounded nice and normal. And, of course, we’re not in a normal world, but I feel so safe that I was able to not play a teenager, but really find my teenager again. And so thank you.”
Cameron returned the admiration with warm praise for her work transforming into Kiri. “You did it. When you walked into the Volume where we capture, you just were younger in spirit, in movement, and everything,” he said.
“I don’t even know how aware of that you were. And, of course, you weren’t playing somebody who was having a happy teenage life. You were remembering and sort of re-channeling a tough time in your life, but you were younger. I don’t mean like two years younger. I mean like 40 years younger. It was amazing.”
Weaver’s journey back into adolescence for this performance sounds like one of the more personal challenges she’s taken on in her long sci-fi career. With Cameron pushing deeper into the mythology of Pandora, the pair’s continued collaboration feels like one of the most reliable creative constants in the Avatar franchise.
Fans will see the results of that synergy when Avatar: Fire and Ash finally lands in theaters, bringing Kiri’s story and Pandora’s next chapter to the big screen.
Source: GamesRadar+