Avatar: The Way of Waterstar Edie Falco reveals that she was criticized for mistakenly believing the sequel had underperformed in theaters. Directed by James Cameron, the follow-up to 2009’sAvatarwas released in 2022, continuing the story of the Sully family as they face off against returning human invaders on Pandora. Falco, who joined theAvatar: The Way of Watercastas antagonist General Ardmore, made headlines in December 2022, before the film had even come out, for comments she made onThe Viewin whichshe assumed the movie came out and flopped at the box office.
During a recent interview onThe Jess Cagle Show(viaEntertainment Weekly) Falco reveals that her comments aboutAvatar: The Way of WateronThe Viewhad some blowback. The actor reveals that she heard Cameron himself wasn’t too impressed:
“I heard straight from the source who was with him when he heard that I had said that, that it did not go well.I took a lot of flack for that.”
Falco would further elaborate on herThe Viewcomments, saying, “All I was saying is I’m a jerk. I never know what’s going on with my life.” She pokes fun at her own lack of awareness regarding the projects she’s in, especially something as gargantuan asAvatar, and meant her comments to be more self-critical than anything else. But, she says, “it was not taken like that,” and she “got a lot of phone calls from a lot of very important people.”
WithAvatar: The Way of Water, in particular, she had filmed her scenes four years prior to the movie actually coming out, and she had long since moved on:
“I make these things, I do the job, I say goodbye to everybody, and then I’m done. Then I’m onto the next thing. I have no idea what happens to things after I’m done.”
What Avatar: The Way Of Water’s Success Means For The Franchise
James Cameron’s Sequel Plans Are Confirmed
Avatar: The Way of Waterwas something of a question mark in the years leading up to its release. The firstAvatarstill stands as the highest-grossing movie of all time, but it was unclear what the interest level would be in returning to that story and that world 13 years later. What’s more, Avatar: The Way of Waterwas an expensive and ambitious film, and one that was intended to serve as the first of four sequels, putting a lot of pressure on it to succeed.
Avatar: The Way of Watercarries an estimated budget of more than $400 million, though some of this covers material that was filmed for the sequels. The film grossed $2.32 billion worldwide.
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James Cameron’s movies have been box office juggernauts for a long time, but Avatar 3 risks killing the director’s $2 billion hot-streak.
Fears regardingAvatar: The Way of Waterwere proven wrong, however, andthe sequel now stands as the third highest-grossing movie of all time. This result solidified Cameron’s sequel plans. The upcoming third installment,officially titledAvatar: Fire & Ash, is set to release in 2025, and there will presumably be more confidence leading up to the film’s release that it will succeed. Falco, for her part, seems likely to pay more attention toAvatar: Fire & Ash’s release and performance since she will be returning as Ardmore.
Our Take On Edie Falco’s Avatar: The Way Of Water Comments
Why They’re Not Surprising
It’s important to remember that,for many actors, the movies they star in are just jobs. Just because someone stars in anAvatarmovieor aStar Warsmovie or an MCU film doesn’t mean they’re heavily invested in that property beyond what they were contracted to do as actors. This is evidently the case for Falco, who wasn’t paying close attentionAvatar: The Way of Water’s reception or release.
While Falco clearly didn’t mean anything by her original comments from 2022, it’s not surprising that higher-ups involved in the project were unhappy with one of its stars assuming that it had bombed. Since Falco will be appearing inAvatar: Fire & Ashand potentially the fourth and fifth films as well, it’s likely that she will be doing more press in the coming years, but viewers evidently shouldn’t expect any additional slip-ups.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Cast
Avatar: The Way of Water, set more than a decade after the original film, follows the Sully family as they face threats to their survival. With Jake and Neytiri at the helm, they strive to protect their children while combating external perils and confronting personal losses.
