Remember that little movie from a couple of years ago called "Avatar"? If you don’t, you’re probably one of the five people who didn’t buy one of the tickets that helped push the movie to over $2.7 billion in worldwide sales. Given that figure, it was inevitable that sequels were put in the works, and while Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are no brainers to return, fans were a little confused when Sigourney Weaver revealed she would be returning as well. "Don’t worry, I will be back," she told ComingSoon last month. "Jim [Cameron] says no one ever dies in science fiction. He’s told me the stories for the next two movies and I have to say that they’re absolutely wonderful and there’s a real treat in store. Now we just have to make them." Hey, but wait, didn’t Grace die in the first movie?
Well, Vulture caught up with James Cameron at the Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Awards last night and he explained just how Weaver could possibly appear in "Avatar 2" and/or "Avatar 3."
"…have you ever heard of nonlinear storytelling? A lot happens on that planet before she shows up, and before Jake shows up to join her," Cameron explained. "She’s there for fifteen years ahead of time. I don’t know, but I wouldn’t jump to conclusions. And I’ve already said way too much about ‘Avatar 2 and 3’ here and there, but people piece it together like those voice cameos and tell the whole story!" He also adds, "Okay, here’s the deal. When you have a science-fiction series, a science-fiction franchise, you’re never dead, unless your DNA is expunged from the universe. And then there’s always time travel!"
Well, all this to say that Weaver will probably do some flashback scenes, or maybe the "Avatar" movies will serve both as prequels and sequels to Cameron’s box office-smashing movie. Moreover, these are still a long way off, with "Avatar 2" set for December 2014 and the third entry to follow a year later, so anything could happen, and Weaver’s role could grow or shrink depending on where the focus of the story lays. Details for now are being kept under lock and key, but the second film will apparently plumb Pandora’s oceans, with Cameron shooting Mariana’s Trench last year for research footage.
And don’t think that with all this time ahead of him Cameron might sneak off and make something else before getting back to the Na’vi. As he tells Vulture, "Not for the next five years! My next film, films are ‘Avatar 2 and 3’."
So, are you ready to get blue and hug a tree again? You have at least a couple of years to prepare.