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Michelle Rodriguez Told James Cameron Not To Bring Avatar's Trudy Back (For Good Reas
Avatar star Michelle Rodriguez has explained why her character, Trudy Chacón, won't come back in the upcoming Avatar sequels. A no-nonsense pilot for the RDA, Trudy developed a sympathetic view of the Na'vi, going as far as to betray humanity in a fight to fend off Quaritch and his troops from leveling Pandora's forests to mine Unobtanium. Trudy sacrifices herself in the final battle while protecting Pandroa from human intervention and abuse.
Speaking to Variety, Rodriguez revealed that she asked Avatar writer-director James Cameron not to include Trudy in any of the film franchise's sequels. She explained that she didn't want to dampen Trudy's sacrifice, citing the multiple times when characters in films she's starred in have been brought back from the dead. Check out what Rodriguez had to say below:
"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’].”' I was like, ‘You can’t do that—I died as a martyr.'
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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 [time], that would be overkill!"
Why Trudy's Avatar Sacrifice Is So Important
While it would be interesting to see how Trudy would fit into upcoming Avatar sequels, such as Avatar 3's Ash People conflict, Rodriguez makes a good point about Trudy's death meaning something. While Rodriguez is no stranger to being brought back to life in films, Trudy's death underscored how there were still humans who understood the Na'vi didn't deserve to have their home destroyed. Her sacrifice paved the way for victory against the RDA and the long peacetime that followed.
If Trudy were to return in the Avatar sequels, she would have to be brought back in a way that wouldn't undermine the sacrifice she made in the first Avatar film. However, it appears the Avatar sequels will be more focused on exploring new biomes on Pandora and the types of Na'vi that live there. Putting Trudy in the mix could make it feel like she returned only to have a recognizable face come back, which may not service the story.
Cameron's original plan to have Trudy as part of the Avatar sequels shows that he may have had plans for the character, but it was likely scrapped when Rodriguez decided not to take on the role again. While it's unclear what those plans may be, Trudy could have acted as a human connection within the film that could have shown not all humans are inherently evil. But due to how important Trudy's sacrifice was in Avatar, it would be a mistake to negate that by bringing her back for future sequels.
