In her career spanning almost five decades, Sigourney Weaver has played some of the most iconic roles. Some of her most popular characters are a part of franchises like Avatar and Ghostbusters. No matter what part of the world a cinephile lives in and which generation they belong to, they are bound to have seen the actress working magic through her screen presence.
One such franchise that she has been a part of is James Cameron’s Avatar, which is the fourteenth highest-grossing film series of all time with only three films so far. What viewers witness on their screens is the product of an immense of hard and smart work.
However, Weaver is the one who saw the raw version of it. She is one of those people who got to witness it become this huge success from a mere vision that Cameron had. Recently, she revealed her candid thoughts after she read the script of the first film.
Sigourney Weaver’s Candid Thoughts After She Read the Avatar Script
Sigourney Weaver made her film debut in 1977 with the rom-com Annie Hall. Her breakthrough followed two years later with her role as Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror Alien. Her performance in the sequel Aliens even earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Aliens was her first collaboration with James Cameron who wrote and directed the film. Their next collaboration was 2009’s Avatar, which turned out to be a critical and commercial success. In fact, it is still the highest-grossing film of all time although it has been over a decade since its release.
In a recent interview with Deadline ahead of receiving the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, the Working Girl actress recounted her honest thoughts about Avatar‘s script when she first laid eyes on it.
I remember reading the script of the first Avatar and reading about these blue people with pointed ears and tails riding on these creatures through floating mountains … I couldn’t imagine any of it being shot. I honestly couldn’t imagine how he would ever make a film that looked like this and had these elements.
When it was still in the making, no one could have imagined that it would turn out to be this big of a deal. Not even Weaver, who had appeared in her fair share of blockbusters before this film, had any idea of the kind of global success this film would enjoy.
Sigourney Weaver Is Set to Return for the Next Films in the Avatar Franchise
Weaver appears as Dr. Grace Augustine/Kiri in this sci-fi franchise. This is one of the only franchise roles she has played recently besides Ghostbusters. It has been quite some time since she last portrayed Ellen Ripley and there are no signs of her return to the Alien franchise anytime soon.
However, that is not the case for her role as Kiri in James Cameron’s multibillion-dollar franchise as she has confirmed her return to the fourth and fifth films during her conversation with Deadline. She also revealed that the Titanic director is still working on the third movie while the scripts for the fourth and fifth films are already finished.
Frequently asked questions
What did Sigourney Weaver think when she first read the Avatar script?
Speaking to Deadline, Weaver recalled reading about blue people with pointed ears and tails riding creatures through floating mountains. She said she honestly couldn’t imagine any of it being shot, or how James Cameron would ever make a film that looked like that. She had no idea the movie would go on to become a global success.
Is Sigourney Weaver returning for Avatar 4 and Avatar 5?
Yes. In her Deadline interview, Weaver confirmed she will return as Kiri in the fourth and fifth Avatar films. She added that, at the time of the interview, Cameron was still completing the third movie while the scripts for the fourth and fifth were reportedly already written, continuing her role in his multibillion-dollar franchise.
Which character does Sigourney Weaver play in the Avatar franchise?
Weaver first appeared as Dr. Grace Augustine and later plays Kiri, born from Grace’s avatar, in James Cameron’s Avatar films. The article notes this is one of the few franchise roles she has taken besides Ghostbusters. She first worked with Cameron on Aliens, the role that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
