Sigourney Weaver played the heroic Dr. Grace Augustine in “Avatar” in 2009. Her character dies in the first film – but Weaver returns for the “Avatar: The Way of Water” sequel, albeit in a slightly different form. Weaver now plays Jake Sully’s adopted teenage daughter, Kiri, a sensitive and perceptive youth. Based on the second film, it looks like the franchise is setting her up to be a big part, if not the centerpiece, of Avatar’s story.
Kiri is the biological daughter of Avatar Grace’s body, meaning she looks mostly Na’vi, except she has five fingers and eyebrows like the other Avatars and their descendants, which include Sully and his three children with Neytiri. Her father is unknown and it is unclear how she was conceived. “It’s a natural birth, but the avatar is brain dead, but she’s not. She’s normal,” Cameron said in a November interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Kiri seems to share a special bond with Sully and Neytiri’s other adopted child, Spider, who is the human son of Colonel Miles Quaritch. She also seems to share an unusually strong bond with nature, easily connecting with creatures that other Na’vi must work to tame and sensing things about the land around her that others do not. In addition, Kiki may have a spiritual connection to Eywa, the deity who protects Pandora and the Na’vi, and appears to be able to communicate with and even control nature at times, though it appears that she is at the mercy of forces far beyond her control. to her mysterious gift. All of this suggests that she likely has an important role to play in the fight for Pandora’s survival against colonizing, nature-destroying human forces.
For Weaver, playing teenage Kiri was a welcome challenge. “We started talking about this forest girl — a girl who felt more at home in the forest with plants and animals than people. Maybe she would be different, maybe she could blend in with the forest. Anyway, I was immediately fascinated,” Weaver told D23 in 2022. She also recalled her first conversations with James Cameron about the role in 2010. “I was excited because it was like nothing I’ve ever done before. And I was thrilled that Jim would entrust me with such a character. I felt an immediate connection with her. I knew it would probably be the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on, but I thought, with his help, with his incredible writing, with our wonderful cast, I’d definitely give it my best shot.”
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is now showing in cinemas. Ahead, check out more photos of Kiri and Weaver.
