Production on the “Avatar” sequels are well underway, and director James Cameron is now talking about Kate Winslet’s role in the films.
“She blazed through for a couple of days of rehearsals and saw the world that we had created, and how we do the work, and she’s very excited,” Cameron told Vanity Fair of the actress who also starred in his worldwide hit “Titanic.” “She plays a character who’s part of the Sea People, the reef people.”
Cameron also divulged the “one thing” Winslet demanded on the set of “Avatar.”
“The one thing she did do is demand that she do all her own water work,” he said. “I said, ‘All right, that’s fine, we’ll have to teach you how to free dive.’ The other actors are up to three- and four-minute breath holds. We’ve already been doing underwater capture. We did a scene last week with six teenagers, well, actually five teenagers and one seven-year-old underwater holding their breath for a couple minutes and acting, actually doing a dialogue scene under water because they speak kind of a sign language.”
Winslet joined the project in October, nearly eight years after the release of “Avatar” and its record-breaking $2.7 billion worldwide box office gross.
The script was written by Cameron with Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Shane Salerno. Cameron and Jon Landau are producing through their Lightstorm Entertainment company.
The fourth “Avatar” film will come out three years later on Dec. 20, 2024, followed by a fifth film on Dec. 19, 2025. Stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver are returning.