What It Was Like For Kate Winslet To Reunite With James Cameron For Avatar: The Way Of Water
Kate Winslet became a star right before our eyes when she sailed the open seas, wrapped in the arms of Leonardo DiCaprio in James Cameron's monster hit "Titanic" back in December of 1997. Winslet reportedly beat out Winona Ryder, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Claire Danes (who had just co-starred with DiCaprio in "Romeo + Juliet") to earn the now iconic role of Rose. Now, Winslet and Cameron have reunited in another ocean-themed epic, "Avatar: The Way of Water," which is finally coming to theaters on December 16, 2022.
Winslet will employ her Oscar-winning acting abilities to inhabit a new Na'vi character named Ronal, a lionhearted leader of the oceanic Metkayina tribe. In the film's trailer, she's seen next to another Metkayina tribe member, Tonowari, played by New Zealander Cliff Curtis. "Avatar: The Way of Water" takes place more than a decade after the events of the first film, and will follow Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), and the Sully offspring as they try to unite the tribes of Pandora in a war against the humans.
During a new press conference for the epic sequel attended by /Film, Winslet spoke at length about working with Cameron again after all these years, and being welcomed into the world of Pandora for the very first time. "Well, I have to say, with it being Jim, I expected the absolute best of everything because it's precision, it is thought through, it's thorough, it's meticulous," she began. "I think the thing that pulled me in most of all above everything else is the characters that he's created."
Writing strong female characters
Sigourney Weaver is also returning to the "Avatar" universe even though her character died in the first film (she's playing a new character). Cameron and Weaver famously collaborated on "Aliens," cementing Weaver's character Ellen Ripley as one of the greatest female characters in sci-fi history. With "Avatar: The Way of Water," Winslet now has the chance to be remembered as a fearless warrior who can continue the legacy of brave, bold Na'vi women fighting to survive against all odds. Judging by her comments, it appears that the characters in the sequel will have a little more depth this time around:
"Jim has always written for women characters who are not just strong but they are leaders. They lead with their heart, with integrity, they stand in their truth. They own their power. They have physical power that is admirable and to be part of that and included, it was just so flattering that Jim asked me because Jim does not suffer fools."
After hearing that Winslet held her breath for more than seven minutes while training for the film's incredibly demanding underwater sequences, it's clear that the seasoned actress was up for the physical and mental challenge of her role as Ronal. Her competitive nature came out in full force and she met Cameron's expectations head on. At the press conference, Winslet continued:
"I knew that he was asking me because he knew I was too damn foolish not to say, 'Oh! You see that in me? Well guess what? I'm going to show you that I can do exactly that thing, and maybe that thing and maybe that thing and maybe that thing!' And, of course, he expected no less. So, I was just thrilled to be asked."
It's hard to know for sure before seeing the finished film, but it sounds like Winslet is going to be a big part of some of the show-stopping battle scenes that await audiences this Christmas. Ronal does appear to be pregnant, but that doesn't look like it's going to stop her from grabbing a weapon to defend her people.
Creating a heartbeat
Winslet was also sure to commend the original cast and massive team of effects artists for creating a living, breathing world that actually feels like it could really exist. "Zoe [Saldana] and Sam [Worthington], what they did the first time around, was to create that heartbeat," she noted. "It's one thing for Jim [Cameron] to write it. It's quite another to find it and to give it a life and a pulse and real blood in those veins."
Coming aboard and being introduced to such a vast pre-existing world could have been daunting, but Winslet was positively exhilarated by it. "But it's really, really extraordinary to be around that. It's not a performance. It's not things they came up with on the day. It is a universe. It is a love." The staggering amount of world building to bring Pandora and its inhabitants to life is truly jaw-dropping, and Winslet was sure to point our that, for all of the digital wizardry, it still felt entirely real:
"It is something that is palpable and you feel it. You step into that space, it's an empty space but it is absolutely loaded with truths and dynamics and pulses that these guys built. They built that. And they shared it and it's honestly very, very special to her being a part of it."
"Avatar: The Way of Water" is in theaters only on December 16, 2022. "Avatar 3" is tentatively scheduled for December 20, 2024, "Avatar 4" is set for December 18, 2026, with "Avatar 5" possibly arriving on December 22, 2028.