Avatar: The Way of Water will be making its theatrical bow in a little over a month, with the next chapter of James Cameron’s darling sci-fi franchise set to capture our hearts again by way of Pandora’s stunning beauty and the Na’vi’s graceful charm.
But, much like the events of The Way of Water‘s 2009 predecessor, it won’t be a plight of lollipops and sunshine for the beloved blue aliens, thanks to the recently resurrected RDA coming back into the fold, greed and all. And on top of all that, Jake and Neytiri are also contesting with perhaps the one thing that could go toe-to-toe with a military invasion in terms of stress; being parents to teenagers.
Indeed, The Way of Water will introduce the many children of Jake and Neytiri, including their eldest teenage son Neteyam, and their adopted teenage daughter Kiri, played by Sigourney Weaver, who previously portrayed the now-deceased Dr. Grace Augustine in the first film.
Evidently, being parents means reeling in the gusto of a warrior, lest you leave a fair chunk of children down a parent or two; in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Avatar mastermind James Cameron revealed that the sequel will be throwing more than its fair share of obstacles at this family, cheekily dubbing the trials as “a bunch of bad sh*t.”
He would explain how this added dimension of parenthood, to teenagers no less, will make life all the more difficult for Jake and Neytiri.
Becoming a parent changes so much of your behavior and your value system. What we saw in the first film were people who were fearless. Jake would throw himself off his ikran onto a leonopteryx, but is a father of four going do that? I’m thinking probably not, because they have a duty to survive. It doesn’t mean he’s a coward, but it means his priorities change. Is he still a warrior? Are these young boys who are 14, 15, 16, coming up, getting all excited about wanting to go to war and fight for their people and for their land? How’s [Jake] going to be a hypocrite and hold them back when he has to go do it?
Avatar: The Way of Water will release in theaters on Dec. 16.
