There are several returning Avatar characters in Avatar 2, aka Avatar: The Way of Water. James Cameron’s long-delayed sequel to 2009’s biggest movie. Originally slated for a holiday 2020 release, Avatar: The Way of Water will finally hit theaters on December 16, 2022, beginning the first new chapter in the Avatar franchise. Jake, Neytiri and all of the returning characters from Avatar 2 will be ten years older, as the sequel is set a decade after James Cameron’s original blockbuster. Many Avatar characters are in The Way of Water, including several rumored fans who haven’t been able to appear since their deaths in the first movie.
Along with returning Avatar characters, Avatar 2 also brings a number of new and familiar actors to the franchise, such as Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, and Vin Diesel. There’s also Fear the Walking Dead’s Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jermaine Clement, and more. Avatar’s Sigourney Weaver, who appeared in the original as Dr. Grace Augustine, returns but to play a completely different character in Avatar: The Way of Water. Here’s every returning character from Avatar 2 and how the sequel picks up where those characters left off in 2009’s Avatar.
Jake Sully
Unsurprisingly, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), the original film’s main protagonist, is a returning character from Avatar 2. Jake was a disabled Marine who served in the Avatar program. Its purpose was to gather information on the Na’vi for the RDA (Resources Development Administration). After meeting the Na’vi and being introduced to the tribe, Jake grows attached to his new tribesmen and eventually sides with them against the RDA At the end of the film, Jake becomes the leader of the tribe, leaves his human life behind forever, and – through a Na’vi ritual that transfers Jake Sully’s consciousness into his avatar – permanently becomes a Na’vi. By the time of Avatar 2, Jake will have started a family with Neytiri, who is of course another returning Avatar character.
Neytiri (Zoe Saldana)
The main female character and love interest of the first Avatar’s protagonist was Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri, a Na’vi from the Omaticaya tribe, and it’s no surprise that Neytirie is in Avatar 2 as a returning character. She was the daughter of its leader, Eytukan (Wes Studi). Soon after meeting Jake, Neytiri developed a romantic attraction to him, and soon after they began a relationship. Zoe Saldana is back to play Neytiri in the sequel, and her role, like Jake’s, will be very different, given that the two returning Avatar characters will be the parents of five children, three of whom are their biological children: Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Bliss). Jake and Neytiri’s children in Avatar 2 also include two adopted children – Spider/Miles Socorro (Jack Champion) and Kiri, who will be played by Sigourney Weaver.
Dr. Norm Spellman
A returning human character from Avatar 2 is scientist Dr. Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore). Spellman was deeply invested in the Avatar program and very knowledgeable about all Na’vi issues. However, despite his interest in the project, it was his friend Jake who was chosen to be the avatar. However, Norm acted as an ally and guardian to Jake, helping him understand their ways. He even stood by Jake when it came time to oppose the GDR. He was also one of the few humans not kicked out of Pandora at the end of the film. So it makes sense that Norm is one of the returning Avatars. characters.
Parker Selfridge
Parker Selfridge, played by Giovanni Ribisi, was the head of the GDR in Avatar. In order to secure his interests, which were to exploit the unobtanium mineral reserves found under the sacred Na’vi tree, Selfridge knew that the Na’vi would have to be expelled. Although he cared little for what happened to them, he granted Jake more time to reason with them, as he preferred diplomacy to violence. But in the end, Selfridge put aside his reservations and let his men have their way. Selfridge survived the events of the film, and as a returning character from Avatar 2, it will be interesting to see if or how her morals have changed.
Dr. Max Patel
In 2018, it was confirmed that Dileep Rao would reprise his role as Dr Max Patel in the Avatar sequels. Max was a civilian scientist who worked on the Avatar program, which initially aimed to better understand the Na’vi clans of Pandora. His primary responsibility to the program was to oversee the process that transferred human spirits into their avatar bodies. Max, loyal to Dr. Augustine, turned against the RDA and helped Jake throughout the film. Like Norm, Max was allowed to stay in Pandora at the end of Avatar.
Mo’at (CCH book)
Mo’at (CCH Pounder), Eyukan’s mate and Neytiri’s mother, was the spiritual leader of the Avatar tribe. She was seen by the tribe as a wise and benevolent figure whose words carried great weight. She was upset when she found out that Jake was a spy, but freed him when she realized his help was needed for the clan’s survival. At the end of Avatar, it was Mo’at who was able to permanently transfer Jake’s essence into her avatar body, and she’s destined to play an even greater role as a returning character. Avatar 2.
Miles Quaritch
Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), an experienced soldier who worked for the RDA, was the main antagonist of Avatar and is undoubtedly one of the most crucial characters in Avatar 2. Quaritch despised the Na’vi and had no qualms about killing them to achieve the RDA’s goals of reaching Pandora’s richest unobtanium deposits. Along with the most loyal forces in the GDR, Colonel Quaritch represented the aggression of textbook development in the central sociopolitical themes of Avatar.
Indeed, Quaritch’s ruthless methods put him at odds with both human and Na’vi characters – even RDA leader Parker Selfridge. Quaritch launched devastating attacks on the Na’vi, but was eventually killed by Neytiri. Although Quaritch is dead, Stephen Lang’s character is confirmed to be back for Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. In an unhealthy twist of fate, the RDA redesigned the Avatar program to permanently transfer human minds into Na’vi bodies, called Recombinants. , which is how Quaritch is a Na’vi in Avatar 2. The Recombinant Program is a corruption of the Soul Tree ritual that brought Jake back, and in Avatar: The Waterway, the RDA the used to restore Avatar villains.
Lyle Wainfleet
In Avatar, Matt Gerald portrayed Corporal Lyle Wainfleet, a secondary antagonist, soldier and mercenary in the employ of the RDA, as well as a subordinate of Quaritch. Wainfleet sided with Quaritch in the final conflict between the RDA and the Na’vi. He used the AMP suit and used it to kill Na’vi in the last assault. He died after being run over by a rhinoceros-like animal – but like Quaritch, death won’t stand in the way of his return to the Avatar franchise, as Lyle Wainfleet will return as a recombinant in Avatar 2.
Dr. Grace Augustine isn’t coming back (but Sigourney Weaver is)
Although Avatar 2’s returning characters won’t include Dr. Grace Augustine, sci-fi icon Sigourney Weaver will return in the sequel as a new character – Jake’s adopted Na’vi child. and Neytiri, Kiri. Dr. Augustine died in Avatar after the Na’vi failed to transfer her consciousness into her Na’vi body via the Tree of Life ritual. Kiri is said to be the biological child of Grace Augustine’s Avatar body, though how she was conceived is a complete mystery – one that will no doubt be solved by the mystical and awe-inspiring interconnected ecosystem of Pandora itself.
In Avatar 2, it is possible that Grace’s spirit and DNA will be stored as data in the Tree of Life after her death, which would allow her to carry on the legacy and lineage of a Na child. ‘vi biological. This is supported by the fact that the Tree of Life would no doubt be able to read Grace’s desire to help Pandora, and the fact that in the Avatar 2 trailer, Kiri appears to be reacting to footage of Dr. Augustine. by Sigourney Weaver. Either way, whether Kiri is totally new or technically one of the returning Avatar characters, it’ll be interesting to see how Sigourney Weaver’s role in the Avatar franchise continues to evolve.
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