Edie Falco Cast In ‘Avatar’ Sequels

James Cameron’s Avatar sequels have added another high-profile talent their cast, in the form of Sopranos and Nurse Jackie star, Edie Falco!

The announcement came from the official Avatar Twitter account, which posted the following today:

“We are thrilled to share that Edie Falco is joining the #AvatarFamily as General Ardmore, the Commander in charge of the RDA’s interests in the Avatar Sequels!”

“General Ardmore” sounds like she’s going to be the successor to Miles Quaritch, Stephen Lang’s military commander villain from the first Avatar. If you can’t remember back to a decade ago when Avatar hit theaters, the “Resources Development Administration” is the big corporation that’s funding the exploration, industrialization, and colonization of Pandora and its resources. The RDA is opposed by Pandora’s natives, the Na’vi, and that conflict blew up into all-out war when Jake Sully defected from the RDA ranks and successfully transmitted his consciousness into a Na’vi body, leading the indigenous race againt the RDA as their legendary leader, Toruk Makto.

Now that major blockbuster movie sagas tend to fall within the Star Wars blueprint of narrative arc, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the RDA strike back against Pandora in a big way. How General Ardmore takes charge is something that remains to be seen, but at this point, it seems as though her character’s big arc won’t be happening until later in the series… possibly around Avatar 4?

As you can see above, the tweet is careful with its wording, confirming that Falco will be in the “Avatar sequels” without committing to revealing which ones. However, the principal cast of both Avatar 2 and 3 all wrapped filming back in November; while it’s possible that Falco’s character could get minor scene inserts in those films, it’s more likely that General Ardmore will come at the start of the next arc, following whatever happens with Stephen Lang’s character arc in the initial trilogy.

There was recently some skepticism thrown on the possibility of Avatar 4 and 5, in light of the merger deal between Disney and Fox. However, with this Edie Falco casting announcement, it seems as though things are moving still moving forward. It will be interesting to see just how much momentum Fox can generate behind this franchise, which has taken about eight years longer than anyone wanted to continue on the big screen.

Avatar 2 is scheduled to premiere in theaters on December 18, 2020.