Matt Damon Was Not the Only Superstar Who Turned Down a Lucrative Role in James Cameron’s Avatar

Directed by James Cameron, 2022’s epic science fiction movie Avatar: The Way of Water followed a blue-skinned humanoid seeking refuge with the aquatic Metkayina clan of Pandora after being under renewed human threat. The film starred Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Kate Winslet, Stephen Lang, and more. Upon release, the sequel to 2009’s Avatar received a positive response from the audience and the critics.

The critics went on to praise the visual effects, technical achievement, and the performances of the actors in the movie; however, some criticized the runtime of the film. Avatar: The Way of Water is regarded as one of the top movies of 2022 and has won the Best Visual Effects award at the 95th Academy Awards. One actor recently revealed that they passed on the opportunity to be a part of Avatar 2, which made James Cameron angry.

Josh Brolin addresses his reason for declining James Cameron’s Avatar 2

In his recent appearance on In Depth with Graham Basinger, Marvel actor Josh Brolin finally addressed why he passed on the opportunity to appear in James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water. He said,

I heard [Cameron] was angry. I understand it, because when you have something in your mind and you have a status and power…you’re used to people feeling really grateful that you are offering it to them.

Brolin continued by explaining that he was not sure if that was the case with the filmmaker because he did not know him well enough. He added that his rejection was based on the project and not Cameron.

Despite the sequel facing a lot of challenges while being made, James Cameron has never commented on Brolin’s failed casting. The supposed role was never revealed, but it has been known that Brolin would have been signed in for a long haul.

This is not the first time Brolin has addressed his failed casting in Cameron’s movie. Back in 2017, during his interview with Esquire, he said that if he doesn’t want to do Avatar, he is not doing Avatar. He continued;

James Cameron’s f***ing calling me this name and that name. Whatever. If James Cameron came to me and said, ‘Hey man, why’d you say that? I’d go, ‘Because it happened.’

In his interview with Graham Basinger, Brolin also recalled working on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which had Johnny Depp and Tim Burton’s interest but never saw the light of day. The actor recalled that he met Burton in Cannes, and all three of them were talking about the potential project on a boat. Brolin noted that he felt that it was a surreal moment for him, but he was excited about the project, and just then the studio had a problem.

The Marvel actor noted that he pitched the project to the Coen Brothers at one point but it did not happen. 

Not Josh Brolin but James Cameron addressed Matt Damon’s decision to pass on Avatar 2

In his interview with Chris Wallace, Matt Damon shared that he had to walk away from James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water. Damon, who was at the time under contract to complete the action-espionage Bourne series, which is why he had to pass down the opportunity. The actor explained,

I had a contract. I was in the middle of shooting the Bourne movie, and I knew that we were going to need work at the end, I had to get it to the finish line, and I would have to leave the movie kind of early and leave them in the lurch a little bit.

Damon recalled that he desperately wanted to work with Cameron because he worked so rarely, but he didn’t know how to leave his friends in the lurch, so he made a choice. The actor, however, noted that it was a lot of money that he had rejected after refusing to be a part of Avatar.

James Cameron also reacted to Matt Damon’s decision during his conversation with BBC 1 by stating that he’s beating himself over his decision to pick the Bourne series over Avatar. The filmmaker added that, according to him, Damon is one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and he should get over his choice. He explained,

He had to do another Bourne film, which was on his runway, and there was nothing he could do about that, so he had to regretfully decline.

Cameron, however, added that the actor should make an appearance in the upcoming sequel and clarified that the actor doesn’t get 10% of the movie’s profits at the box office. Wallace had mentioned in the interview with Matt Damon that it was rumored that Cameron had offered him a percentage of the profits of the movie.

Avatar: The Way of Water is available to stream on Disney+, Apple TV, and Prime Video.