Soon, audiences will finally get to return to Pandora with James Cameron‘s third movie of the Avatar franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash. In it, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their children once again face off against the humans invading Pandora and destroying its natural environment for profit. After Avatar: The Way of Water, Jake and Neytiri must not only battle new foes with the new Mangkwan clan, but also their own grief as they come face-to-face with the pain of losing their first child, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters).
We spoke with Fire and Ash star Zoe Saldaña about the heaviness of portraying Neytiri during this dark time in her life, as well as how her character’s perspective shifts as she learns to accept the human child, Spider (Jack Champion). Saldaña frankly calls out her character’s prejudice and teases one of the most emotional scenes of the film.
Zoe Saldaña Explains the Grief of Neytiri and Jake in ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’
“It wasn’t easy for Jim.”
COLLIDER: Neytiri is one of my favorite characters in this entire series, and in this film, especially, with your portrayal of grief and this journey that she goes on. What was it like stepping into this role and exploring that aspect of her life?
SALDAÑA: It was heavy. It was so heavy and heartbreaking and hard. It was not an easy thing. Sam [Worthington] and I were not skipping to work when we were doingFire and Ash, but we had each other, and we had the safety net of Jim [Cameron] . Also, it wasn’t easy for Jim.Jim’s a dad, and these were uncomfortable emotions that we were making Jake and Neytiri experience. But not only Jake and Neytiri — Trinity [Bliss] and Sigourney [Weaver] and Britain [Dalton] , and also Jack [Champion] . We were also experiencing it together as a Sully family. And I have to say, I admire the Sully kids. I admire these actors. They’re so professional. They’re so talented. They were so tapped into Pandora. It was so real for them, and it was just beautiful to do it with them.
Zoe Saldaña Breaks Down Neytiri’s Most Problematic Aspect in ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’
“I love that Jim allowed Jake and Neytiri to recognize that.”
One thing I really like about your storyline in this movie is actually Neytiri’s relationship, which is kind of complicated, with Spider. What is it like playing that journey out from just tolerance to acceptance for her character?
SALDAÑA: Neytiri’s a full-blown racist in this movie. I was discussing it with Jim. I think it was important for me not to run away from that for her. This is a woman who has experienced an extreme amount of loss at the hands of a race, of a species that she unrecognizes as her own, and that she doesn’t understand. She doesn’t want to accept them, and yet she falls in love with one of them and has a family with them. So she is being challenged, and her faith is being challenged. But what Neytiri must do is she must grow. She has to, because her children depend on it. Her children are her teachers, and not just her teachers; they’re also Jake’s teachers, and I love that Jim allowed Jake and Neytiri to recognize that, to discover the strength and courage in all of their children, and to accept when they needed to be guided by them.
“Good for a guy like me who gets a bit intimidated by being the center of attention.”
I think that was one of the best scenes between the two of them. I’m not going to spoil it, but when you guys are talking about it, I was like, damn, this is hitting on a different level.
SALDAÑA: Oh my God. And to see when a child is vulnerable and needs you, it doesn’t matter what the child looks like. And I love the fact that Neytiri proves once and once again that she is Na’vi through and through, and love will always be what conquers everything.
That’s really powerful. So I’m asking everybody this. If today, you, Zoe, were to go to Pandora, what’s the first thing that you’re going to do when you get
SALDAÑA: Fly an Ikran.
I love that everybody answers that way.
SALDAÑA: I would love to say that I would love to swim with the Tulkun, but the sea, to me, it’s the biggest, most marvelous thing we have, and the sky as well, but I would like to start with the sky first.
Avatar: Fire and Ash arrives in theaters on December 19.
- Release Date
-
December 19, 2025
- Runtime
-
195 Minutes
- Director
-
James Cameron
