Giovanni Ribisi Will Return For All Four 'Avatar' Sequels
As James Cameron continues onward with production for his four Avatar sequels, the cast has slowly been taking shape. Now another actor who appeared in the first film has been confirmed as returning for all four films. Giovanni Ribisi will reprise his role as Parker Selfridge. The latest Avatar sequel casting news awaits you below.
It's hard to believe, but James Cameron is finally in production on his long-delayed sequels to Avatar. Cameron will shoot not just one but four sequels to his mammoth blockbuster. Previously, original Avatar actors Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Joel David Moore, Stephen Lang, Matt Gerald, and Sigourney Weaver were all confirmed as returning, and a whole group of young actors were recently announced to join the cast as well. Now, another original Avatar cast member will be returning to Pandora and beyond: Deadline reports Giovanni Ribisi will reprise his role as Parker Selfridge.
If you don't remember who that is (and it's fine if you don't), Parker Selfridge is the corporate administrator for The Resources Development Administration (RDA for short), a shady conglomerate who were mining the planet of Pandora for a valuable mineral called unobtanium. Selfridge was originally planning on bulldozing over the Na'vi, the alien race who inhabit Pandora, in order to get to the mineral. He changed his mind after considering what bad PR it might be to wipe out an alien race. Eventually, when the evil military guys do attack the Na'vi, Selfridge grows uncomfortable with all the violence.
Just how the character will fit into Cameron's four sequels remains to be seen. Cameron will film all four Avatar sequels as one big epic; it sounds like a complex process, but the director seems up for the challenge, saying:
"It's not back-to-back. It's really all one big production. It's more the way you would shoot a miniseries. So we'll be shooting across all [Avatar scripts] simultaneously. So Monday I might be doing a scene from Movie Four, and Tuesday I'm doing a scene from Movie One. ... We're working across, essentially, eight hours of story. It's going to be a big challenge to keep it all fixed in our minds, exactly where we are, across that story arc at any given point. It's going to be probably the most challenging thing I've ever done. I'm sure the actors will be challenged by that as well. It's like, 'No, no, no, no, this person hasn't died yet, so you're still in this phase of your life.' It's a saga."
Avatar 2 will open on December 18, 2020, Avatar 3 on December 17, 2021, Avatar 4 on December 20, 2024, and Avatar 5 on December 19, 2025.