Per what we know about Avatar: Fire and Ash and the other upcoming sequels in the franchise, director James Cameron has assembled a massive cast filled with talented stars. The Way of Water introduced new characters played by Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis and Edie Falco, and there are more to come. Another star who was previously announced to be joining the franchise was the legendary Michelle Yeoh. It was expected that Yeoh would make her debut as Dr. Karina Mogue in the series’ first sequel in 2022, though that didn’t turn out to be the case. Cameron has now provided some clarity regarding Yeoh’s role, and I’m honestly a little bummed.
James Cameron recently unveiled the title for the previously mentioned Avatar threequel during the D23 Expo. While there, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker later answered some questions about what fans can expect from the third movie. Cameron was eventually asked about whether or not Michelle Yeoh would appear in Fire and Ash (which is on the 2025 movie schedule). And, unfortunately, it sounds like those eager to see the actress enter the world of Pandora are going to have to wait a little while:
Michelle Yeoh won't be in 3. She's in 4 and 5. So that got a little bit misreported. She will be coming in soon to do her part, which is an interesting, fun character. I mean, we're getting ahead of ourselves now. This whole thing has been planned for years and years. The scripts were all written years ago, through the end of movie 5. So we've been working on parts of 4 even as we go along, mostly because we've got this young cast. We had to shoot them all while they were still young.
I certainly appreciate that the Terminator director just flat out told EW that the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon icon won’t appear in Fire and Ash. Otherwise, some franchise devotees would’ve surely continued to anticipate an appearance from the actress. The news of her absence, however, is still somewhat disappointing. Not only that, but fans should remember that the fifth film in the Avatar saga isn’t set to hit theaters until December 21, 2029. So that means we have a little more than four years before we get to see Dr. Mogue make her formal debut. Sure, it’s comforting that she will eventually appear, but that wait is going to be tough.
One can certainly understand why James Cameron would seek out Michelle Yeoh for his franchise, as she’s one of the most prolific actors in the history of cinema. The Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once actress has remained mum on her role for the most part. However, Yeoh did previously hype up her role and, while speaking with CinemaBlend, she explained that she had a firm desire to join Cameron’s sequels. As a fan of Yeoh’s, I’m hoping that Dr. Mogue plays an integral role.
While the Tomorrow Never Dies won’t be showing up in the highly anticipated sci-fi threequel, a few other fresh faces will. Harry Potter and Enola Holmes 2 alum David Thewlis is set to appear, and that we know for sure. A while ago, Thewlis clarified that he’d appear in the next three Avatar movies and, as of right now, his exact role remains unknown. Joining him will be fellow franchise newcomer Oona Chaplin, who’s arguably best known for playing Talisa Maegyr on Game of Thrones.
There surely won’t be a shortage of characters in James Cameron’s upcoming movie, as the ensemble is quite massive. Nevertheless, I’ll still be waiting intently for the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actress to make her first appearance in Cameron’s ongoing, box office-breaking franchise. Here’s hoping Dr. Karina Mogue’s entrance in the fourth flick will be well worth the wait.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is set to open in theaters on December 19, 2025 and, in the meantime, you can stream the first two films using a Disney+ subscription. You can also catch Michelle Yeoh in Wicked, which opens on November 22 as part of the 2024 movie schedule.
