Avatar 2: The Way of Water is surrounded by legends. Underwater shoots that required the cast to hold their breath for minutes. A budget beyond imagination. A huge set somewhere in New Zealand. All choreographed by eccentric director James Cameron.
How does it feel to have a starring role in most expensive and technically most modern blockbuster of recent years to play? That’s what we asked Avatar stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington, who are reprising their respective roles of Neytiri and Jake Sully in Avatar.
I actually can’t believe I’m doing this interview because we’ve had to wait so long for Avatar 2. It’s been 13 years! Did you miss Pandora?
Zoe Saldana:
Do we have. It was such a special experience [beim ersten Film]To be able to work with someone like James Cameron and be part of such an extraordinary project. The concept was unimaginable and the global response was unlike anything I’ve experienced before or since. Going back to that experience and meeting these people I look up to again was like an everlasting gift.
Avatar 2: The Way of the Water – Trailer 2 (German) HD
Actors and actresses face many challenges when shooting a blockbuster like Avatar 2. What was the hardest part for you personally?
Zoe Saldana:
For me it was definitely the underwater scenes. I was not prepared for this training. But I accepted it and in the end it was quite an exhilarating experience.
Sam Worthington:
Well, we noticed in the first part that the performance capture technique is very acting friendly. We don’t think much about the technology behind it. We only think about each other. And we can actually see the virtual world while we’re filming. That’s the difference between us and other films, we’re already immersed in the world even if we’re on a gray set.
But when you suddenly decide to take this whole idea underwater…no one has tried that before and I loved being a part of this groundbreaking journey. Because that always demands new challenges and new questions from you and it always throws you back. And that’s exciting, it was for all of us, including Jim [Regisseur James Cameron]. While doing it, we figured out how it works. And that’s always been a great aspect of filmmaking for me.
Zoe, was the shoot comparable to your MCU projects, which also rely heavily on CGI?
Jake and Neytiri
Zoe Saldana: Both require imagination and practice. The difference with Avatar is that the preparation is much more extensive and I prefer that process, with all the research and practice that you go through with you with the other cast members. With all the trainers that your director puts at your side. All those endless conversations you have with your director trying to figure out who your character is, why they are the way they are. That’s the part I like to do the most. I tend to deep in [meinen Charakter] dive in and take as much time as I can get. In order to create something like Avatar, you need this preparation.
Sam, in the first movie you’re going back and forth between your Na’vi body and your good old Jake Sully body. In part 2 you stay Na’vi the whole time. How did that affect your acting style?
Sam Worthington:
Jake has been living with the Na’vi for 10 years now, so he has adapted certain original instincts and ways of moving. He’s just become part of the culture and he’s embracing it. Zoe showed me how she moves and how she expresses as Neytiri that Jake has fitted in.
Avatar 2: The Way of the Water – Trailer (German) HD
James Cameron has said that the first Avatar film put less emphasis on relationships and feelings. What do you think? Did the first part have too few emotional scenes and what is different about the second film?
Sam Worthington: I don’t think he has less emotional scenes. It was the beginning of a love story. The stakes are higher in the new film as the love story’s natural spread leads to a family. And whenever you bring children and parents into play, you get a whole range of emotions. James Cameron is great at making certain scenes almost operational, shifting family feelings into battles and high-risk situations. I think that’s why the emotions in this film can be much more effective.
Zoe Saldana: There are also many more characters interacting with each other, giving Jim the ability to create a wider range of emotions. [Jake und Neytiri] are torn. When you have children, you have a great responsibility to protect those lives. Raising children in a world in turmoil causes great emotions.
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