For the longest time, it seemed as if those Avatar sequels were going to be the sorts of movies that languished in development hell forever. However, over the last few years the wheels continued to turn, and now it appears that, assuming they don’t get delayed… again, these movies may actually happen.
The cast of the next film, officially titled Avatar The Way of Water has continued to grow into something special. Several members of the first film’s cast are returning, and even more new characters have also been announced by director James Cameron and his producers. Where do we currently stand? Here’s a look at everybody who has a confirmed appearance in Avatar 2. On to Pandora!
Sigourney Weaver/Dr. Grace Augustine
It’s not exactly clear how Sigourney Weaver will appear in Avatar 2, as her character of Dr. Grace Augustine died during the events of the first film. Whether Grace will somehow come back, likely in her Na’vi avatar body, or will exist as some other entity isn’t entirely clear. Her consciousness may still exist inside the Tree of Souls, even though we were led to believe that process failed. However it will work, Weaver has been attached to this one since back when we still weren’t sure if this movie was going to happen.
Sam Worthington/Jake Sully
Once upon a time, Sam Worthington looked to be the next big thing in action movies with roles in films like Terminator Salvation and the Clash of the Titans remake. While those franchises have faded away, Avatar is still here, and thus, Worthington will be back on the big screen in a big way. Once human, but now existing entirely inside his Na’vi Avatar, every indication is that Jake Sully will be our lead character once again. While the plot of the new film is still mostly unknown, we know that Avatar 2 will see Sully and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) with children.
Zoe Saldana/Neytiri
Neytiri was the primary member of the Na’vi that the first Avatar focused on. She became the love interest for Jake and was the one responsible for showing him the ways of the Na’vi. Saldana’s star was on the rise when the first Avatar came out, much like Worthington, but unlike him, she has become a serious movie star in the ensuing years. Still, Saldana clearly loves her work on Avatar and seems to be excited to be going back for the sequel. Much like Sigourney Weaver, she’s been talking about going back ever since the sequels were first rumored.
Stephen Lang/Colonel Miles Quaritch
Another member of the “dead, but apparently not” club. Stephen Lang’s Colonel Miles Quaritch seemingly perished in the battle of Pandora at the end of the first film, and yet, Lang is apparently set to be the primary antagonist of the story going forward, as the word is he will be in all the forthcoming sequels. All. Of. Them. Lang is a great actor and so we don’t really have a problem with his return, as long as it makes some sort of justifiable sense. Apparently, even Lang didn’t originally believe James Cameron’s concept for bringing him back.
Kate Winslet/Ronal
A big addition to the Avatar: The Way of Water cast is a name familiar to James Cameron fans, as he’ll be reuniting with Kate Winslet (Titanic) for at least one movie. We know the name of her character is Ronal, and that she’s a free diver of Metkayina clan. Her role in Avatar 2 is said to be crucial to the film. Still, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing these two Hollywood greats work together again.
Joel David Moore/Norm Spellman
Joel David Moore played the role of Norm Spellman, who became Jake Sully’s friend, after previously being friends with his deceased twin brother Tom, and who ended up fighting alongside Jake in an Avatar at the end of the film. Eventually, Spellman lost the link to his Avatar but was allowed to stay on Pandora after all the other humans were kicked off the planet. This possibly makes him one of the few 100% human characters who will even be in this movie, as most everybody else who is confirmed is going to be big and blue.
CCH Pounder/Mo’at
Mo’at was the Na’vi spiritual leader in the first Avatar and was one of the key characters in Na’vi society that we met along with Neytiri’s father who was the village chief. As the keeper of the Tree of Souls, Mo’at will probably have plenty to do, what with all the dead people who somehow still have roles in this movie. Since everything we know says the sequel will take us to new places on the planet, there’s a good chance Mo’at’s knowledge will lead the way. The actress was perfectly cast in the role before so it’s great to know CCH Pounder is coming back.
Jamie Flatters/Neteyam
Jamie Flatters is one of a whole collection of young actors who will be bringing entirely new characters to life in Avatar 2, and, one assumes, all the sequels. Flatters will play Neteyam, the firstborn son of Jake and Neytiri. At this point, that’s about all we know about the character, but the fact that Neteyam is the oldest of several children of the pair shows that quite some time will have passed since the first film when Avatar 2 picks up. The fact that so many young actors will be in the movie at all tells us they’ll likely be important.
Britain Dalton/Lo’ak
Jake and Neytiri’s second child is named Lo’ak and will be played by the young Britain Dalton. Dalton will be known to viewers of the Amazon series Goliath, starring Billy Bob Thornton, but he may also sound familiar to fans of the Uncharted video game series as he voiced the young Nathan Drake in the most recent title, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. We have no details about this character beyond his birth order and his name. While Lo’ak is the second of three children, he is the youngest son.
Trinity Bliss/Tuktirey
Jake and Neytiri’s youngest child is their only daughter, Tuktirey. Tuk (as she is often called) will be played by Trinity Bliss. Of course, “youngest child of the Sully family” is all we know about the character, so we’re at a loss beyond that. Tuk is one of only two girls among the currently announced child actors, which could indicate a bond between her and the other one.
Cliff Curtis/Tonowari
The first big name added to the cast of Avatar 2 and its following sequels was Fear the Walking Dead‘s Cliff Curtis. Curtis will play the role of Tonowari, the leader of Pandora’s reef people. Pandora’s oceans are expected to play a major part in the new film, though whether the reef people, called the Metkayina, are entirely friend or foe is not clear. Curtis is reportedly signed for all the sequels, so we’re guessing they’ll be allies eventually joining forces against Colonel Quaritch. Tonowari and Jake Sully will have some things in common as they both have kids in this movie.
Filip Geljo/Aonung
The Metkayina people have a collection of young actors joining their cast as well. Those with small children might recognize Filip Gejio as a member of the PBS children’s series The Odd Squad, but in Avatar 2 he’ll take the role of Aonung, a young hunter and free diver, and also the son of the Metkayina clan leader, which would seem to make him the son of Cliff Curtis’ Tonowari, unless there’s more than one clan among the reef people of Pandora. We’d expect Aonung will probably interact a lot with the Sully kids, as they all have fairly important parents.
Bailey Bass/Tsireya
The next actor joining the cast as a young member of the Metkayina is Bailey Bass (front and center in the image above), in the role of Tsireya. Reya, as she’ll apparently be known, is described as a graceful and strong free diver, a skill which seems to be key to the Metkayina way of life, as every young actor who has been cast has the same skill. This will only be Bass’ second film role to date, so she’s made quite a leap from relative obscurity to one of the biggest film franchises ever.
Duane Evans Jr./Roxto
Duane Evans Jr. will play, the last of our six new roles, another young hunter and free diver of the Metkayina, named Roxto. Evans will be recognizable to residents of New Zealand for his recurring role on the primetime soap opera Shortland Street, and as Rhino in Netflix’s Sweet Tooth, but this will most certainly be his debut to the rest of the world. Beyond Roxto’s skills as a hunter and diver, we don’t know much about him. But there’s plenty of time to discover who all these kids are before the film comes out.
Matt Gerald/Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
And then there’s the third actor whose character died in the first Avatar and yet will somehow return for all the sequels. You’d be forgiven for not remembering Corporal Lyle Wainfleet from the first movie. He wasn’t given a great deal of focus the first time around, until he was trampled to death by native Pandoran wildlife. And yet, somehow, Gerald’s character will be back in The Way of Water. We’re sure whatever method allows him to be alive is similar to how everybody else will return who was once dead. If only we knew what that was.
Oona Chaplin/Varang
Game of Thrones fans will recognize Oona Chaplin as the wife of Rob Stark, but for her next big role, she’ll probably live longer, as the actress has been cast in the role of Varang in all of the Avatar sequels. Who is Varang? She’s a “strong and vibrant central character” but who the heck knows what that means? The fact that she only has one name would indicate she’ll be Na’vi, but beyond that? The wife of the Metkayina chief perhaps? Hopefully, she won’t attend any weddings.
Jack Champion/Javier ‘Spider’ Socorro
Finally, we have the last of our young actors, Jack Champion in the role of Javier ‘Spider’ Socorro. Champion’s role is unique for several reasons. Not the least of which being that he plays a human being. He plays a human born at Hell’s Gate, but one who prefers his time spent in the rainforests of Pandora. At this point, Spider is the only new human child that we have entirely confirmed, which at least promises that there will be some in the new film.
Jemaine Clement/Dr. Ian Garvin
In May of 2019 another addition to the cast of the Avatar sequels was announced. Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement was revealed to be playing a character by the name of Dr. Ian Garvin. Garvin is a marine biologist, which makes sense since we know that Avatar 2 is a movie that will focus on the oceans of the alien planet. It also appears, based on the phrasing of the announcement, that Clement will be around for all of the sequels as well.
Chloe Coleman/Young Lo’ak
You probably don’t know Chloe Coleman by name but you’ve very likely seen her in recent films like the Dave Bautista comedy for Amazon, My Spy, as well as Netflix’s Gunpowder Milkshake. She’s also appeared in the TV series Upload and Big Little Lies. In addition to her role as Young Lo’ak in Avatar: The Way of Water, she also has a role in the forthcoming Dungeons and Dragons movie.
Jeremy Irwin/Young Neteyam
Jeremy Irwin is a newcomer to Hollywood with only a single TV movie credit to his name prior to scoring Avatar 2. He will play a younger version of Jake and Neytiri’s oldest child, played throughout the rest of the movie by Jamie Flatters.
Giovanni Ribisi/Parker Selfridge
Giovanni Ribisi will be yet another member of the original Avatar cast to reprise his role from the first film. He played Parker Selfridge, the man in charge of the expedition to Pandora. At the end of the film, he was, as far as we know, booted off the planet with most of the rest of humanity, so why and how he has returned we do not know.
Dileep Rao/Dr. Max Patel
Dr. Max Patel is a character you might not remember from the original Avatar unless you’ve seen it recently. He was one of the heroic scientists that sided with the Na’Vi. Rao also appeared in Drag Me To Hell and Christopher Nolan’s Inception.
Edie Falco/General Ardmore
Edie Falco has made more than her share of fans through years of television roles. She has more than a dozen Emmy nominations thanks to her roles on both Nurse Jackie and The Sopranos. Falco will appear in the next Avatar movie as General Frances Ardmore. We know little about the character but she is reportedly the new head of the Resources Development Administration, the role previously held by Giovanni Ribisi’s Peter Selfridge.
Michelle Yeoh/Dr. Karina Mogue
Michele Yeoh recently blew everybody away with her lead role in Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, so you can be sure there will be people excited to see what she brings to the Avatar franchise. Beyond the character’s name., we don’t know much about her, so she’s a doctor, and that’s about the size of it. Michelle Yeoh, doesn’t really care why she’s in Avatar 2. She’s excited to be working with James Cameron.
Brendan Cowell/Captain Mick Scoresby
Brendan Cowell will be a face better known to Australian audiences than American ones, though he did have a small role in Game of Thrones. Captain Mick Scoresby is another character we know little about, but he is the captain of a marine hunting vessel, and considering we know that Avatar: The Way of Water is a movie focused on the oceans of Pandora, this could be a very important character.
Vin Diesel
For a long time it was unclear if Vin Diesel’s comments that he would be appearing in the Avatar franchise were entirely on the level. Even now it’s unclear exactly what he’s doing in the film, how big his role is, or anything else. But it does seem clear that Vin Diesel will appear in some capacity. It’s not even certain that he will appear in Avatar 2 or just other sequels, but at this point it seems likely.
CJ Jones
CJ Jones will be familiar to fans of Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver, where he played the deaf foster father of Ansel Elgort’s character. Jones has only appeared in a couple of projects since then, but he will be Avatar the Way of Water in an undisclosed role.