Original Avatar Star Refuses to Return for Future Sequels

Avatar: The Way of Water took fans back to the world of Pandora more than a decade after the original Avatar was released. Much to the surprise of fans, a couple of big stars were able to return to the franchise after their characters were killed off in the first movie. Stephen Lang’s Quaritch was resurrected as a Na’vi avatar. Sigourney Weaver took on a new role as the young Kiri. One star of the original Avatar, however, wanted no part of coming back.

Michelle Rodriguez starred in the original Avatar as Trudy, a pilot that ended up joining the side of Jake Sully, Neytiri, and the Na’vi. At the end of the movie, Trudy sacrificed herself to help the Na’vi, resulting in her death. According to Rodriguez, franchise helmer James Cameron had the idea to bring her back into the fold. 

“Dude, when I saw Jim [Cameron] recently, he was like, ‘I was thinking, What if Michelle came back? A lot of the other characters came back [in The Way of Water],’” Rodriguez told Vanity Fair. “I was like, “You can’t do that—I died as a martyr. Jim, I came back in Resident Evil, I wasn’t supposed to. I came back in Machete, I wasn’t supposed to. I came back with Letty, I wasn’t supposed to. We can’t do a fourth, that would be overkill!” I don’t understand, it’s so weird. I guess they don’t know what to do with the girl who doesn’t have a boyfriend. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend. Should we keep her alive, or kill her?”

Not only would bringing Trudy back potentially hurt her original ending in the first movie, it would also be yet another Michelle Rodriguez back from the dead storyline. Her characters in Resident Evil, Machete, and Fast & Furious all returned after seemingly dying on-screen. 

Rodriguez clearly wants to keep at least one of her characters’ endings. With Trudy not returning for Avatar: The Way of Water, it appears she made that happen.

What did you think of Avatar: The Way of Water? Let us know in the comments!