After years of preparation, James Cameron officially launched production on Avatar 2 (as well as Avatar 3) earlier this week. And with that launch came official casting news -- the first real, tangible news that we feel we have bene able to report regarding the wildly anticipated sequel. Original cast members like Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana have been speculating on the direction of the next four films in the saga. But with the announcement of the addition of seven (!!) new characters, we know a lot more detail about the return trip to Pandora than we ever have.
20th Century Fox shared the casting news on the additions to the ensemble, and broke them down into three categories. In the process, we learn that Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have been very busy building a family since the original Avatar:
The Sully FamilyJamie Flatters plays Neteyam (neh-tay'-ahm), Jake and Neytiri's first born son.Britain Dalton plays Lo'ak (loh' ahk), Jake and Neytiri's second bornTrinity Bliss plays Tuktirey (took-tee'-ray). She goes mostly by "Tuk" (rhymes with "nuke"), and is youngest of the Sully family.
Outside of the Sully family, Avatar 2 will introduce members of the Metkayina clan, who will be played by:
Bailey Bass: Tsireya (see-ray'-ah) "Reya" She is a graceful and strong free-diver -- the young Neytiri of the ocean.Filip Geljo: Aonung (aw-nung') Young male hunter/free-diver son the Olo'eyktan of Metkayina Clan.Duane Evans Jr.: Rotxo (row'-txoh) Young male hunter/free-diver of the Metkayina.
Finally, Avatar 2 rolls out Hell's Gate courtesy of Javier "Spider" Socorro (Jack Champion), a character being described as a "human teenager, born at Hell's Gate but prefers his time in the Pandoran rainforest more than the asphalt of Hell's Gate."
Already, this is far more information about the sequel than we'd had, but given the fact that James Cameron has penned the bulk of the screenplays for the four planned Avatar sequels, it makes sense that he would know the characters that he's introducing, and the larger roles that they play. In announcing these new characters, Fox shared pics of the young actors as they toured Pandora: The World of Avatar theme park in Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. We have the picture above, and this one for you:
James Cameron says that he is working concurrently on Avatar 2 and 3, and then will dive into Avatar 4 and 5 once Avatar 3 hits theaters. The first sequel arrives on December 18, 2020. We will continue to keep you updated on every step of this incredible journey. We can't wait to see what Cameron has in store.
