With all due respect to Vin Diesel’s favorite Fast & Furious catchphrase, “Family” (which we no doubt will hear time and time again in the run up to the release of Fast X later this year), the new blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water actually is about the bonds of family, and how mothers and fathers fight like animals if they feel like their young are being threatened. Director James Cameron has talked at length at how he felt his Avatar sequel was rooted in the concept of a blended family, for when we catch back up with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his true love, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), they’ve built an intimate clan of their own. And because that unit is threatened, Saldana felt like she was being tested by Cameron this time around… in ways she wasn’t on the first movie.
Neytiri is a true “Mama Bear” in Avatar: The Way of Water, going to extreme lengths to protect her children – even those, like Sigourney Weaver’s teenaged character Kiri, who might come from another mother. True love knows no boundaries, something Saldaña better understands because she herself has become a mother since appearing in the original Avatar. When I mentioned that in our exclusive interview for Avatar, and how it might have affected her preparation to play Neytiri in the sequel, the Guardians of the Galaxy actress explained:
It’s funny, I was just sharing this with Jim. This is the first time I have seen in a minute. And I felt that in Avatar: The Way of Water, Neytiri challenged me the most because Neytiri was challenged the most. The first time, she’s just fighting what’s in her heart. And it’s just love. She’s falling in love, falling into this abyss of… this sensation of love and curiosity for this other individual. In Avatar: The Way of Water, she’s fighting fear. And there’s so much anger and unresolved conflict in her heart. … Jim challenged me. He knows where this woman, this creature, is. And he knows where she needs to end up. So we’re working backwards, and he’s not even going to let me get in her way. She has a journey that is very relatable.
In this movie in particular, the journey includes loss. If you have seen the movie (and based on box office totals, a lot of you have seen the movie), there’s a scene involving Neytiri that allows Zoe Saldaña to bear her soul. It’s unforgettable, mainly because it shakes you to your core. While the Academy will never recognize motion-capture performances – otherwise Andy Serkis would have numerous, well-deserved Oscars – the emotions on display in that one scene for Neytiri should have Saldaña in any Actor conversations come awards time. It’s a shame that will never come to pass.
James Cameron will have more opportunities to challenge Zoe Saldaña, as she’s expected to be back for the next Avatar sequels, which could start arriving as quickly as two years from now. And make sure you scan this list of upcoming Zoe Saldaña movies, because she has a major Marvel sequel arriving in theaters in May, and we know that you will want to be front and center to see how the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise concludes this run of stories.
