Zoe Saldaña has firmly established herself as one of the premier big-screen talents of her generation. The fan-favorite actress has headlined some of the most famous movie franchises of all time. Of course, one such franchise is Avatar, which sees Saldaña transform into the blue Nav’i princess Neytiri. Based on the success she’s had since starring in James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic, it doesn’t seem like the series has been a hindrance to the star’s career. In fact, it turns out that her role in Cameron’s flick directly led to her landing the role in the Star Trek movies.
The original Avatar film was shot throughout most of 2007, with the live-action segments being filmed during October of that year. Of course, the future Guardians of the Galaxy star was on hand to fulfill her duties. She recently recalled the experience while appearing at a Screen Talks session amid the London Film Festival this past weekend. While discussing her time working on one of the best James Cameron movies, the Dominican actress recalled (via Deadline) that a very special guest visiting the set at one point:
JJ Abrams came to the Avatar set, he and Jim were talking. Jim said, ‘I think I just pulled your next job. Have you ever seen Star Trek?’
Isn’t it funny how things work out? Why J. J. Abrams was on the set in the first place wasn’t made clear during Zoe Saldaña’s discussion. Nevertheless, I’m glad the Super 8 helmer managed to recognize sheer talent. And, of course, everything worked out, as Saldaña was officially cast in the Abrams’ film. And, as was the case with Avatar, those movies would positively impact the trajectory of her film career as well.
For 2009’s Star Trek, Zoe Saldaña played the role of Nyota Uhura, the character originated by Nichelle Nichols in Gene Gene Roddenberry’s original series. Ultimately, Saldaña played Uhura in all three of the Kelvin timeline-set films, including the sequels – Star Trek into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond, which were released in 2013 and 2016, respectively. The star has spoken positively about her experiences working on the movies and especially gushed about meeting Nichols, who passed away in 2022. A fourth film in the franchise has been long discussed and has seen its share of starts and stops. Saldaña is open to the film but feels it would be bittersweet to shoot it following the death of co-star Anton Yelchin.
What is known for sure is that the A-lister will reprise her role as Netyri in the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash, which is one of the biggest titles on the 2025 movie schedule. Plot details are scarce at the moment but, based on the details that have been released, Jake Sully, Neytri and their family could find themselves in yet another dangerous situation, due in part to the unpredictable Ash people.
As someone who enjoys sweet movie trivia, I really appreciate the behind-the-scenes connection between Zoe Saldaña’s work on the aforementioned sci-fi franchises. I also look forward to seeing her return to the world of Pandora and also hope she’ll be able to jump back on the Enterprise for another turn as Uhura at some point.
You can stream the first two Avatar movies with a Disney+ subscription now ahead of Fire and Ash’s release on December 19, 2025. Zoe Saldaña’s work in those three Star Trek movies can also be accessed using a Paramount+ subscription.
