Sigourney Weaver's role in Avatar: The Way of Water has been revealed, and it is truly baffling. Most of the original cast of Avatar is set to return for this many-years-later sequel, which will take place more than a decade later and follow the Sully family as they flee to the shores of Pandora, is set to come to theaters this holiday season on December 16, 2022. The returning cast includes the original leads Sam Worthington (who played disabled marine Jake Sully) and Zoe Saldaņa (who played the Na'vi Neytiri, the daughter of the leaders of the Omaticaya tribe and Jake's love interest). Also returning are Giovanni Ribisi as RDA administrator Parker Selfridge and Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quatrich.

There has been no small amount of mystery surrounding the return of one particular performer. Weaver, who previously collaborated with James Cameron in his hit sequel Aliens (in which she reprised the role of sci-fi heroine Ellen Ripley), is set to appear alongside her Avatar castmates in this sequel. The only catch to this is the fact that her character, exobiologist Dr. Grace Augustine, died at the end of the first film.

Empire Magazine has just announced a shocking revelation from their upcoming cover story on Avatar: The Way of Water. Weaver won't be playing a human character this time, but rather a Na'vi named Kiri, who is the adopted daughter of Jake and Neytiri. Not much is known about the character at this time, other than the fact that she is a teenager. Check out the first-look photo at Weaver's character below:


There are many baffling elements about this particular casting decision. First and foremost is obviously the fact that Weaver is 72 years old, nearly three decades older than both of the actors who are playing her parents, and two additional decades away from her teenage years. However, according to a quote from Cameron that is included in the article, as she performed the role, "Sigourney just became younger."

It is currently unclear what kind of magic the special effects wizards behind Avatar: The Way of Water will work on Weaver's performance. It sounds like she nailed the physical aspect of the role, but they may seek to alter her voice digitally in some way. However this role comes to fruition, it is certain to be a fascinating process that will create one epic bonus feature on the film's eventual home video release.