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Actress Michelle Rodriguez has declined the opportunity to reprise her role in the Avatar franchise, saying it would be “overkill” to bring her character back from the dead again.
Rodriguez debuted in the original film as Trudy Chacón, a combat pilot who sacrifices her life to help the Na’vi prevail over the humans attempting to control Pandora. Despite James Cameron suggesting to Rodriguez that her character could return in the upcoming sequels, she said she couldn’t do it again as she had already returned from the dead three times in her career.
Rodriguez listed her appearances in Resident Evil, Machete, and Fast and Furious as examples.
Michelle turning down to star ‘Avatar’ sequels
Michelle Rodriguez’s decision not to return means she is turning down the chance to star in one of the biggest franchises in movie history. The original Avatar is still the highest-grossing movie worldwide, with a total gross of $2.9 billion. The sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, defied box office odds by earning $2.3 billion, making it the third-highest-grossing movie in history.
Rodriguez said she didn’t understand why many of her dead characters had been brought back to life in previous movies. She said: “I guess they don’t know what to do with the girl who doesn’t have a boyfriend. ‘She doesn’t have a boyfriend. Should we keep her alive or kill her?'”
Rodriguez is currently preparing for a busy first half of 2023. She will star in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (opening in theaters March 31 from Paramount) and Fast X (May from Universal Pictures).
Captain Trudy Chacon
In the first Avatar film, Rodriguez played Captain Trudy Chacon, one of the former marines deployed on Pandora for reconnaissance purposes by the powerful Resources Development Administration. Although her role was mainly that of an aircraft pilot not enlisted for battle, she helped the Na’vi fight against the humans trying to take control of their land. Her Samson airship is shot down by the villainous Colonel Quaritch in the film’s final act, resulting in her death.
While there is a possibility that Rodriguez’s character could return via the same experiment that brought back Colonel Miles Quaritch in “The Way of Water,” it is unlikely. In the sequel, Quaritch adopts a Na’vi avatar, but this is because he had already signed off his entire self to the RDA. Trudy did not arrive on Pandora in a military capacity and was not privy to most details of the RDA’s operation on the planet, making it unlikely her consciousness would have been uploaded for safekeeping.
Rodriguez’s decision not to return to the Avatar franchise will unlikely harm the movie’s success. With the cast of Avatar 2 including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Kate Winslet, the upcoming sequels are expected to be box-office hits, and Rodriguez’s absence is unlikely to affect their popularity.
Michelle Rodriguez has declined the chance to return as Trudy Chacón in the upcoming Avatar sequels, citing her previous experiences with returning from the dead in other films. Her decision means she will miss out on the opportunity to star in one of the biggest franchises in movie history. However, Rodriguez is preparing for a busy first half of 2023, with roles in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Fast X.
