Zoe Saldaña Reveals That Eventually Saying Goodbye to Avatar’s Neytiri Will Be Harder for Her Than Leaving Marvel

by

Zoe Saldaña is known as a sci-fi superstar thanks to her roles in Star Trek, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Avatar. While she’s found success in all three franchises, she currently only continues to play Neytiri in the Avatar films. She’s finished with her role as Gamora in the Marvel movies after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the Star Trek series she was in is also ending. Fans will soon see her return as Neytiri in Avatar: Fire and Ash, but Saldaña knows that one day she’ll have to say goodbye to that role too, and she anticipates it will be a deeply emotional moment for her.

While promoting her new movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zoe Saldaña revealed that saying goodbye to her character Neytiri will be more difficult than saying goodbye to Gamora. She explained that Neytiri was her first major role, and that first experience holds a special place in her heart. Saldaña feels Neytiri taught her so much and opened doors for her career, including getting noticed by directors James Gunn and J.J. Abrams. She considers her connection to Neytiri uniquely meaningful and the foundation for many opportunities.

Avatar Was Very Important for Zoe Saldaña’s Career

Zoe Saldaña appeared in a few movies before Avatar in 2009, including smaller roles in films like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and The Terminal. However, Avatar was her first major, leading role in a large-scale production, and it truly launched her career. Her performance as Neytiri was a standout, proving she could carry a blockbuster film. It’s likely she wouldn’t have gotten the iconic roles of Uhura in Star Trek or Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy without the visibility Avatar gave her, which would have been a big loss for those franchises.

Looking at Zoë Saldaña’s career, it’s easy to understand her connection to the character Neytiri. Neytiri is clearly a meaningful role for Saldaña, allowing her to play a strong, capable warrior with a deep emotional core. While Avatar is famous for its visual effects, Neytiri stands out as a character who demonstrates the franchise has real depth. In the upcoming film, Fire and Ash, Neytiri will be dealing with the grief of losing her son, giving Saldaña the opportunity to showcase her acting skills in a powerful and dramatic way.

If all goes well, Zoe Saldaña won’t be saying goodbye to her role as Neytiri for quite a while. Two more Avatar movies are currently planned for release in 2029 and 2031, but it’s uncertain whether those films will actually happen. Director James Cameron is taking a wait-and-see approach, wanting to assess how Avatar: Fire and Ash performs before committing to further sequels. He might delay Avatar 4 and 5 to find a better way to produce them. If Fire and Ash isn’t a box office success, he’s even prepared to end the Avatar film series and finish the story in a book, resolving any remaining plot points.

I think it’s smart that James Cameron isn’t rushing into making Avatar 4 right away. It seems like Zoe Saldaña will likely be playing Neytiri for years to come, probably well into the next decade! The first two Avatar films were huge hits, each making over $2 billion, and even though some people are pointing out a few issues with Fire and Ash, it’s still expected to be a massive success this year. If the movie makes the kind of money Cameron is hoping for, he’ll definitely greenlight Avatar 4, which means Zoe doesn’t have to worry about saying goodbye to the role anytime soon.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/2025-is-saving-its-only-true-sci-fi-masterpiece-for-the-very-end-but-how-big-will-it-be/embed/#

Read More

2025-12-03 20:10