Michelle Rodriguez has explained why she’s turned down James Cameron’s offer to return in Avatar.
The Lost actor, who stars in new film Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, played Trudy in the Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster.
However, she does not appear in sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, as her character died in the original.
But this hasn’t stopped Cameron from considering bringing back Trudy in one of the forthcoming instalments, which are scheduled to be released over the next four years.
Rodriguez revealed in an interview with Vanity Fair that Cameron said he floated the idea of Trudy’s resurrection by her, but that she stopped him in his tracks.
“Dude, when I saw Jim [Cameron] recently, he was like, ‘I was thinking, ‘What if Michelle came back? A lot of the other characters came back,’” she said, adding: “I was like, ‘You can’t do that – I died as a martyr.’”
In additon to this, Rodriguez said she thinks returning in the Avatar franchise would be “overkill” as she has previously returned in three other films despite her character being killed off.
“I came back in Resident Evil – I wasn’t supposed to. I came back in Machete – I wasn’t supposed to. I came back with Letty [in Fast & Furious] – I wasn’t supposed to. We can’t do a fourth, that would be overkill!”
Speaking about this career theme, Rodriguez told the outlet: “I don’t understand, it’s so weird. I guess they don’t know what to do with the girl who doesn’t have a boyfriend.”
Turning down the chance to appear in another Avatar film is certainly impressive considering the sequel, which was released in December 2022, swiftly became the third highest-grossing film of all time. The first Avatar is number one.
Rodriguez is earning acclaim fro her role in Dungeons & Dragons alongside Chris Pine and Hugh Grant.
The film is in cinemas now.
