Avatar Star Says They’ve Had Enough, Refuses To Return For Sequels
Avatar star Michelle Rodriguez says her character died as a "martyr," and she doesn't want her resurrected.
Avatar alum Michelle Rodriguez says she doesn’t want James Cameron to resurrect her character for any upcoming films in the franchise. Speaking to Vanity Fair, the Fast & Furious star explained how she shot down the idea after the director brought it up. “I was like, ‘You can’t do that. I died as a martyr,’” she told the publication.
During the conversation about an Avatar comeback, Michelle Rodriguez said bringing Trudy Chacon back from the dead would be overkill. She listed all the films where her deceased characters were resurrected, saying she can’t do it anymore. “I came back in Resident Evil. I came back in Machete. I came back with Letty [Ortiz]. We can’t do a fourth [time]. That would be overkill!”
Elaborating on so many of her deceased characters returning, Avatar‘s Michelle Rodriguez said she doesn’t understand the reasoning. “It’s so weird,” the actress said about the trend. She believes filmmakers just don’t know what to do with a girl who isn’t romantically attached. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend. Should we keep her alive or kill her?” she theorized.
When she was initially cast in Avatar, Michelle Rodriguez was excited about working with the Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Back in 2007, she gushed about the opportunity via People. “I am about to embark on a journey with one of my favorite storytellers of all time,” she said, adding that even being his assistant would make her very happy.
When Avatar was released in 2009, Michelle Rodriguez graced the big screen as a combat pilot named Trudy Chacón. While working for the Avatar Program, she became sympathetic to the Na’vi. Trudy eventually sacrificed herself in battle to ensure the Na’vi were victorious over the group of humans trying to colonize Pandora.
By rejecting a new Avatar role, Michelle Rodriguez has turned down work in one of the most lucrative franchises of all time. The original film is still the highest-grossing movie in the world, with $2.9 billion. Avatar: The Way of Water was released 13 years later and smashed box office odds, earning $2.3 billion to become the third highest-grossing project in history.
Since the original Avatar, Michelle Rodriguez has starred in several high-profile movies, which explains why she can afford to turn down a sure thing. She stars in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which opens in theaters on March 31. The story chronicles the adventures of a charming thief who teams up with a group of unlikely allies to retrieve a long-lost relic.
But their journey turns dangerous when the group crosses paths with the wrong people. Set in the Forgotten Realms, the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves stars Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant. Following its premiere at SXSW Film Festival, the movie received positive reviews from critics.
Another project, completely unrelated to Avatar, in which Michelle Rodriguez will star, is Fast X. Directed by Louis Leterrier from a screenplay by Justin Lin, Zach Dean, and Dan Mazeau., the movie is set for release on May 19. It serves as a sequel to F9 and is the penultimate installment in the Fast & Furious franchise.
