Zoe Saldana reacts to Avatar sequels delays: 'Great! I'm gonna be 53 when the last film comes out'
Zoe Saldana is not impressed that she will be 53 when the delayed final Avatar film comes out.
On Tuesday (June 13), Disney announced a major overhaul of its release schedule, resulting in the delays of the Avatar sequels, as well as several Marvel and Star Wars titles.
Each of the remaining three Avatar instalments is delayed by a year. Avatar 3 will be out in December 2024, while Avatar 4 will arrive in December 2029, and Avatar 5 will land in December 2031.
2031? That's 22 years after the first Avatar movie came out in 2009. And Saldana feels old thinking about it.
The actress, who voices Neytiri, wrote on her Instagram Instory: “Great! I’m gonna be 53 when the last Avatar comes out [shocked face emoji].
“I was 27 when I shot the very first Avatar."
Her co-star Sam Worthington, 46, who plays Jake Sully, will be 55.
Reacting to the delays, Avatar producer Jon Landau tweeted: "Each Avatar film is an exciting but epic undertaking that takes time to bring to the quality level we as filmmakers strive for and audiences have come to expect. The team is hard at work and can’t wait to bring audiences back to Pandora in December 2025."
Disney hasn't confirmed the reasoning behind the delays. But according to Variety, the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in the US has played a part in the pushbacks, as has production delays.
Director James Cameron, who will be 77 when the final film is released, has previously said he might hand over directing reigns for the fourth and fifth instalments.
He told Empire: “I think eventually over time — I don’t know if that’s after three or after four — I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in. Or maybe not. I don’t know."
Avatar: The Way of Water is now on Disney+. — BANG SHOWBIZ
Photos: TPG News/Click Photos
Watch exclusive 8Days interviews on meWATCH and Mediacorp YouTube Channel.