Sigourney Weaver Explains Connection Between Her New And Old Avatar Characters
Avatar was one of the biggest movies of all time, smashing records at the box office and becoming a sensation across the globe for people wishing they could live on James Cameron’s creation of Pandora. It was only a matter of time before the studio greenlit a sequel, and after a decade-long wait, fans are ready to settle in again for another adventure on the lush planet with some of their favorite returning actors, like Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Stephen Lang. Another returning star from the first, Sigourney Weaver, sat down with Screen Rant to talk about her new character in Avatar: The Way of Water and how she connects to her old character.
In the interview with Screen Rant, the Alien actor explained the connection between the character that she played in the first film, Dr. Grace Augustine, and her newest character, Kiri. Sigourney Weaver’s Augustine was a secondary protagonist in Avatar, as the scientist on Pandora who found ways for humans to lean in and really learn about the Na’vi by delving into their culture using avatars. By the end of the film, Augustine was fighting alongside Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) to stop the military from destroying Hometree. After being mortally wounded, the Na’vi saved her life by permanently transferring her consciousness to an avatar.
By the beginning of the second film, Augustine’s consciousness has become the fourteen-year-old adoptive daughter of Jake and Neytiri, Kiri. While she is one of the people of Pandora, differences begin to separate her from those around her, which causes her to question who she is and what drives her intense connection to nature and the deity known as Ewya. While no one seems to know what happened to Ewya after the humans, led by the evil Quaritch (Stephen Lang), destroyed their connection to her in Hometree, Kiri appears to have her connection still when she begins to hear voices.
If you are wondering who Sigourney Weaver and friends will have to face off against in Avatar: The Way of Water, Quaritch and his army are back with their own avatars to wreak havoc on the Na’vi. But while Lang, Worthington, and Saldana are returning to the same characters as the last one, Weaver’s character is different. She tells Screen Rant that there is definitely a transfer of curiosity between the two characters, but she felt it was essential to leave Augustine in the corner and let Kiri out to play.
While Sigourney Weaver isn’t only in the news this week because of her work in Avatar: The Way of Water, she is looking to the future more than the past. Fans continue to use her, and a barrier-breaking performance as Ellen Ripley in Alien, as a reference to combat the claim by Jennifer Lawrence that no female had ever been put in the lead of an action movie because it wouldn’t work. However, the 73-year-old actor is still just having a blast playing a teenager, and looking forward to three more Avatar films, including with the great Henry Cavill.
