Movies

'Avatar' Sequels Will Send Edie Falco To Pandora, Seemingly As A New Villain

avatar sequels cast edie falco
By Chris Evangelista/

The cast of the Avatar sequels just got a major upgrade. Edie Falco, of The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie fame, will head to Pandora as new character General Ardmore. Falco is a phenomenal actress, and her presence in James Cameron's CGI-enhanced world is surely welcomed. It's not clear which of the sequels Falco will be appearing in – both Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 have wrapped filming with the main cast, and while Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 are both greenlit, neither have begun filming yet, as Cameron and company are waiting to see if 2 and 3 will make a splash at the box office.

The news of Edie Falco joining the Avatar sequels cast comes directly from the Avatar Twitter account.

The RDA is the Resources Development Administration, "the largest single non-governmental organization in human space. Its power is such that it outmatches most of Earth governments in wealth, political influence, and military capability. The RDA has monopoly rights to all products shipped, derived, or developed from Pandora and any other off-Earth location. These rights were granted to the RDA in perpetuity by the Interplanetary Commerce Administration (ICA), with the stipulation that they abide by a treaty that prohibits weapons of mass destruction and limits military power in space."

With that general title and her role in the RDA, it can be safely assumed that she's playing a villainous character. Or at least someone who begins as a villain.

So which films will Falco appear in? I'm guessing we'll see her as soon as Avatar 2 arrives, and that her casting has just been kept under wraps until now. Or I'm wrong, and she won't be appearing until Avatar 4, when and if that happens.

Falco joins a cast that includes Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, CCH Pounder, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet and Oona Chaplin. Specific plot details are scarce, but we know that Avatar 2 is set several years after Avatar. "At the center of each of our four movies will be the Sully family," said producer Jon Landau. "Each sequel will play as a standalone movie. Each movie's story will come to its own conclusion... However, when looked at as a whole, the journey across all four movies will create an even larger connected epic saga for audiences around the world."

I'll be honest: I remain unexcited for these Avatar sequels. I enjoyed the first Avatar when I saw it in theaters, but I've never felt the urge to revisit it like I do with Cameron's other films. But Edie Falco is one of the best actresses in the biz – her work on The Sopranos is unparalleled. I certainly won't mind seeing her act circles around all the blue CGI people she's probably going up against.

Avatar 2 opens December 18, 2020; Avatar 3 on December 17, 2021; Avatar 4 on December 20, 2024; and Avatar 5 on December 19, 2025.

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