James Cameron Says Avatar Sequel's Pregnant Warrior Takes Female Empowerment to Another Level Over Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel

Disney is set to release the long awaited sequel to 2009's Avatar, and excitement for the film is at an all-time high. James Cameron returned to direct the sequel about giant blue beings who live on the planet Pandora, and it seems like he might have another hit on his hands. Avatar: The Way of Water has already landed a Certified Fresh rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, with it expected to make a big splash at the box office. The Way of Water features a bunch of new characters including, the children of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). The film will also introduce us to new characters like the pregnant warrior Ronal (Kate Winslet) and it seems that the director included her for a very specific reason. While speaking with Robert Rodriguez for Variety, Cameron included the character to outdo Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel's female empowerment.

"Everybody's always talking about female empowerment," Cameron said. "But what is such a big part of a woman's life that we, as men, don't experience? And I thought, 'Well, if you're really going to go all the way down the rabbit hole of female empowerment, let's have a female warrior who's six months pregnant in battle.'"

"It doesn't happen in our society — probably hasn't happened for hundreds of years. But I guarantee you, back in the day, women had to fight for survival and protect their children, and it didn't matter if they were pregnant. And pregnant women are more capable of being a lot more athletic than we, as a culture, acknowledge. I thought, 'Let's take the real boundaries off.' To me, it was the last bastion that you don't see. Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel — all these other amazing women come up, but they're not moms and they're not pregnant while they're fighting evil." Cameron added.

Winslet plays Ronal well and you don't even realize that it's her in the role. Ronal is pregnant throughout the film and has a very interesting relationship with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). During a new interview with Empire Magazine, Winslet revealed how the two characters release to each other. 

"Ronal is a formidable female character," Winslet told the magazine. "Like Neytiri, she holds her family's needs close to her heart and will stop at nothing to protect her children and her people. A true mother, in every sense."

"These two females are so aligned in their deep desire to keep their individual families safe. They are both powerful, willful creatures who respect their husbands but will not be led by them. They carve their own paths, and they expect to be listened to. They are both physically as capable as one another, and in the world of Pandora, the need for physical ability amongst all tribespeople is not only important — it is crucial. They also need to possess equal strength to their male counterparts, which both these females do. In staggering ways. Working with Zoe was just wonderful. Her commitment to the world of Pandora and being Na'vi is so embedded within her now that it is truly inspiring to be around. It's as if it's in her blood now." The actress added.

The sequel is confirmed to feature several returning stars that include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stepehn Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, Matt Gerald, and Sigourney Weaver. The cast for the sequels will include several more newcomers than returning members, though, with the likes of Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis, Vin Diesel, and CJ Jones all set to appear as well. Plot details for the sequels are currently unknown.

Avatar: The Way of Water is set to arrive on December 16, 2022, with Avatar 3 set to debut two years later on December 20, 2024.

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