Avatar director James Cameron has a disappointing update for fans: you’re going to have to wait a while before you see Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh on Pandora.
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While at the D23 Expo James Cameron confirmed to EW that Michelle Yeoh is NOT in the next Avatar film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, which will be released in late 2025. So when WILL we see Yeoh join the Avatar franchise?
“Michelle Yeoh won’t be in 3. She’s in 4 and 5,” Cameron said. “So that got a little bit misreported.”
So there you have it: Michelle Yeoh’s Avatar character will be making its debut in Avatar 4, and will be featured again in Avatar 5. Filming on Avatar: Fire and Ash was already completed; we got our first hints that Avatar 4 had begun filming back in 2022, with a recent update in July that filming had resumed after breaks for things like the 2023 Hollywood Strikes, and other logistical holdups.
Cameron indirectly confirmed that Avatar 4 filming is underway again, by revealing that Michelle Yeoh is soon scheduled to film her portion of the movie:
“She will be coming in soon to do her part, which is an interesting, fun character,” Cameron revealed. “We love Michelle. She was always a movie star, but she’s blown up into a huge, huge phenomenon. I look forward to working there.”
Yeoh was announced to be playing scientist Dr. Karina Mogue – a role that good be benevolent, diabolical, or a little bit both. Yeoh has earned major fan cred for her anti-hero role in the Star Trek Universe, a formidable mother in Crazy Rich Asians, and other such roles. Either way, most Avatar fans will be thrilled to see her join the franchise… whenever the eventually see her on screen.
Cameron also explained that there’s a ticking clock hanging over the franchise’s production schedule – namely, the rapidly maturing young cast that was introduced in Avatar: The Way of Water. They have forced Cameron to shoot as much of these films as he could, as fast as he could, even while finishing and releasing each new sequel:
“This whole thing has been planned for years and years,” Cameron said. “The scripts were all written years ago, through the end of movie 5. So we’ve been working on parts of 4 even as we go along, mostly because we’ve got this young cast. We had to shoot them all while they were still young.”
Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water are streaming on Disney+.
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Image Credit: Marvel Studios
