Death isn’t stopping Sigourney Weaver – or even slowing her down – as James Cameron confirms today that the Oscar-nominated actress will be part of the next three Avatar films.
"But wait?" I hear you asking. "Didn’t Sigourney Weaver’s character, Grace Augstine, die in the first Avatar?" She certainly did, in the scene where the native Na’vi try to transfer her soul out of her damaged human body. But the exobiologist, who was a passionate supporter of peaceful treaties with the Pandora residents, isn’t the only skin that Sigourney Weaver can wear (apparently), and James Cameron wants his Aliens leading lady back in the saddle. In a statement, Cameron explained:
"Sigourney and I … are good friends who've always worked well together, so it just feels right that she's coming back for the Avatar sequel. Her character of Grace Augustine, as fans know, died in the first movie, so she's playing a different and in many ways more challenging character in the upcoming films. We’re both looking forward to this new creative challenge, the latest chapter in our long and continuing collaboration."
And what a lengthy collaboration it sounds like it is going to be. James Cameron is hard at work on at least there more Avatar movies that are expected to keep him preoccupied through 2018. He has been writing these Avatar sequels in one sit, mapping out the extensive world that he would like to explore (while he waits for technology to catch up with his visual vision… as Cameron often does).
Because of the role Sigourney Weaver played in Avatar, and the way she exited the story line, there are so many interesting ways that James Cameron can write her back in. Lord knows that there are probably alternate versions of her story in Avatar fan-fic on message boards around the globe. Cameron’s Pandora is a popular joint in cyberspace, where dedicated fans make tribute videos to their beloved characters. Like this one.
Some of us, however, probably would prefer to see Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron continue a different story they worked on many years ago – that of Ripley, the Alien buster. With this lengthy commitment to Avatar sequels, a new Alien movie likely is kaput. That’s a shame. Because Pandora was a beautiful place to explore once, but I’m not sure I can get excited for an extended trilogy… with out without Weaver on board.
