Vin Diesel Not Starring in ‘Avatar’ Sequels After All, Says Producer Jon Landau: ‘People Took That Out of Context’
The future of James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise might include a fire tribe of Na’vi, but it won’t include Vin Diesel. Despite the “Fast and Furious” star heavily indicating in 2019 that he joined Cameron’s long-awaited sequels, franchise producer Jon Landau confirmed to Empire magazine that Diesel isn’t in the “Avatar” sequels after all.
Rumors of Diesel’s “Avatar” casting were ignited in 2019 after the actor posted a video to Instagram with Cameron from the “Avatar” set. He said, “There is one person in Hollywood I’ve always wanted to work with and learn from, and so, all things come, I guess, to those that wait.”
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The video inspired headlines such as “Vin Diesel Appears to Join ‘Avatar’ Sequels.” Diesel seemingly confirmed the news in later interviews, telling MTV, “I love James Cameron and I love the series, and I think it’s safe to say that we will be working together.”
“Vin was a fan,” Landau now clarifies. “He came in, visited the set one day to see what we were doing and people took that out of context.”
People probably took Diesel’s involvement in the “Avatar” franchise out of context because he flat out told Entertainment Tonight that his friendship with franchise actor Zoe Saldaña was one of the reasons he was “doing ‘Avatar.'”
Even without the “Avatar” sequels, Diesel is set to keep his franchise skills alive with the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “Fast X.” He’ll also be front and center in an 11th and final “Fast and Furious” movie.
As for the “Avatar” franchise, “The Way of Water” is currently approaching the $2 billion mark and the worldwide box office. Cameron has teased that a fire Na’vi tribe will be introduced in the third film, but other plot details remain under wraps.
“Hopefully, ‘The Way Of Water’ came to its own conclusion, as I think each movie will,” Landau told Empire about the future. “But they do set things up because we get more and more invested in these characters. Where does Kiri go? What is Lo’ak up to? What decisions will Jake and Neytiri have to make? All of those things will continue to drive our story.”
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is now playing in theaters.
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