James Cameron’s Avatar sequels add Emmy-winning Sopranos and Nurse Jackie star Edie Falco to what was already a star-studded cast. The new cast addition comes after Cameron revealed that the sequels’ main stars, including Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet, have already completed their work on the first two films. Cameron has planned four new Avatar movies, the first of which will release a full 11 years after the original came out in 2009.

Officially, the new Avatar movies are being referred to as simple numbered sequels, but more descriptive rumored subtitles have hit the internet. Avatar 2, which may or may not be called Avatar: The Way of Water, is confirmed to take the action under the seas of Pandora, opening up whole new strange worlds. Being the innovator that he is, Cameron of course developed new performance-capture technologies to allow for underwater filming. Thematically, the sequels will once again delve into politics while telling a multi-generational family story that Cameron has compared to The Godfather.

Though much of the work on the Avatar sequels may be in the can, Cameron clearly has more ahead of him, and is set to add new characters to the mix as well. As reported by Variety, Cameron has now signed up Emmy- and Golden Globes-winner Edie Falco to join the ever-expanding Avatar universe. Falco will be playing a character named General Ardmore, described as the “Commander in charge of the RDA’s interests.” The RDA of course would be the Resources Development Administration, the militaristic organization responsible for the pillaging of Pandora.

Stephen Lang’s villainous Miles Quaritch, who died in the original Avatar but will nonetheless be back for the sequels, also works for the morally questionable RDA. It appears Quaritch has a new boss coming aboard in the person of Falco’s General Ardmore. Falco has plenty of experience playing morally compromised characters after portraying the mobster’s wife Carmela Soprano on HBO’s classic series The Sopranos. Falco went even deeper into darkness for her portrayal of the titular drug-addicted nurse on the acclaimed Showtime series Nurse Jackie. In all, Falco snagged two Golden Globes for her work on The Sopranos, while also taking home two Emmys for the HBO show. Her work on Nurse Jackie won her a pair of Emmys.

Taking off to Pandora with Cameron represents a whole different kind of acting challenge for Falco. Of course, it’s not yet known how big a role Falco will play, or how many of the upcoming sequels she will even appear in. The process of finishing the four planned Avatar films is clearly still a long way from over, so there should be more new cast additions announced in the coming weeks and months.

More: The Avatar Sequels Are A Very Good Thing For Star Wars

Source: Variety

  • Avatar 2 Release Date: 2022-12-16 Avatar 3 Release Date: 2024-12-20 Avatar 4 Release Date: 2026-12-18 Avatar 5 Release Date: 2028-12-22