Sigourney Weaver Playing Her Own Character's Kid In Avatar: The Way Of Water Was A Brilliant Choice

This post contains spoilers for "Avatar: The Way of Water." 

When it was first revealed that Sigourney Weaver would return to the meticulously fabricated world of Pandora for the long-awaited sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water," it was unclear just how that could be possible. Weaver's fiery scientist, Grace Augustine — a legendary xenobotanist in charge of the Avatar Program — was unceremoniously shot and killed by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in the original "Avatar." A valiant attempt by Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and the Na'vi to transfer Grace's consciousness into her lab-grown alien avatar in an untested ritual at the Tree of Souls proved unsuccessful. Was it possible that some of Grace's essence was downloaded into the complex web of roots that make up the life force known as Eywa? Would she be able to somehow communicate through the vast ecosystem that pulses throughout the entire planet of Pandora? 

Some of those questions are answered in "Avatar: The Way of Water," but they end up leading to more questions that should be addressed in future sequels. Weaver does return as Kiri, the adopted daughter of Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who does have an uncanny psychic connection to the creatures and organisms of Pandora. Kiri absolutely has a crucial link to Grace, giving credence to the theory that the eccentric tween Na'vi girl does, in fact, have access to the power of Eywa because of the attempt to save Grace from the first film. 

Hearing the noticeably older Weaver voicing a mo-cap teenaged version of herself may be jarring to some (/Film's Chris Evangelista certainly feels that way in his review). But having Weaver return opens up a bigger, surprisingly compelling mystery about Kiri's origins. And it allows the 73-year-old actor to inhabit a much younger character, giving Weaver an acting challenge that has a much more profound impact than simply having a younger performer play the role.

Audiences have gotten used to seeing the actors they've grown up with take advantage of the constantly improving de-aging technology, from Samuel L. Jackson in "Captain Marvel" to the latest use of the CGI wizardry used to roll the clock back on Harrison Ford in the trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." What James Cameron and Weta Digital have accomplished with facial motion capture and advances in data capturing for photorealistic 3D-CG characters reaches an entirely new level of innovation, however. 

In "Avatar: The Way of Water," these advancements allowed the older performers, namely Sigourney Weaver as the mystical Kiri and Stephen Lang as Quaritch's new and improved Na'vi avatar, to play younger, stronger versions of themselves. That sort of unique opportunity does not come around often for actors of a certain age of stature, and the decision to reinvent these characters allowed Cameron to avoid the sequel trope of bringing back dead characters simply for the sake of it. With the character of Kiri, in particular, the spirit of Grace gets to live on in some form, and it gives Weaver the great gift of getting to become an adolescent again, an experience she took very seriously. 

If the sound of an older actor's voice coming out of an alien teenaged face feels off or bothersome, wouldn't the same problem apply to Lang playing a much younger Na'vi military solider throughout the entire film? Both Weaver and Lang have quick live-action cameos in "Avatar: The Way of Water," and although they're tasked with delivering mostly expository bits of dialogue, their appearance is crucial in selling the illusion that both characters are essentially given a new lease on life. For Kiri, her mysterious origins are hinted at, pointing to a deeper potential connection with Grace and the entire planet of Pandora that should make the decision of Weaver playing her own child even more powerful.

Early on in "Avatar: The Way of Water," Kiri makes a visit to the human science lab where it's revealed that Grace's avatar is in a stabilized coma after the events of the first film. In a deep subconscious state, it's unclear if she has some kind of deep-rooted ongoing spiritual connection with Pandora's mystical powers. Grace is confirmed to be the mother of Kiri, but her conception remains an unsolved mystery, causing Kiri's siblings, Neteyam, Lo'ak and Tuk, to joke about who could possibly be her father. Could it be Norm (Joel David Moore), the anthropologist and avatar driver who definitely worshipped the ground Grace walked on? That would be too obvious, wouldn't it? 

Leaving the question open-ended leaves a couple of options on the table. Either Kiri was conceived in a "miracle" birth with the spirit of Eywa, creating an entirely new hybrid of the Nav'i race, or someone or something else is going to be revealed as Kiri's father, most likely in the next sequel. Actor David Thewlis is set to appear in a third film in an undisclosed role, so maybe a clue will be offered up when his character gets thrown into the mix. 

With Kiri's unknown origin and unparalleled abilities established, the mysterious connection between her and Grace will continue to keep audiences guessing. On a parallel track, Quaritch discovers that the feral human child, Spider, is actually his son, but the mother is also unknown. The admittedly simple plot of "Avatar" didn't match up with the complex, rich world of Pandora. "Avatar: The Way of Water" solves that problem by putting a mystery movie inside of an epic, fully immersive action film with Sigourney Weaver's original character and the enigmatic Kiri placed right in the middle.