A sad truth that is going on in Hollywood right now is that many films attempt to go for the “star power” pull versus having faith and fun with young actors that can carry them on performances alone. Superhero films are notorious for this, as are numerous other “big-budget” Hollywood productions. One of the exceptions to the rule was Avatar back in 2009. While it had stars like Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, and Sam Worthington, they weren’t exactly “super A-list stars” like many would’ve expected from a film that made billions. But that originally wasn’t going to be the case.
That comes from the director of the film, James Cameron. During an interview, the famed creator noted that back when they were filming the original movie, the film was supposed to star Matt Damon as Jake Sully. Damon was a rising star thanks to the Bourne franchise, among others, and so he would’ve given immediate “star power” to the movie. So what happened? Commitments to other films got in the way, and he couldn’t do it.
Cameron stated that Damon is “still mad” about it:
“Matt, you know, you’re kinda like one of the biggest movie stars in the world,” Cameron said. “Get over it.”
Get over it, indeed! The irony is that Damon would do fine on his own and win awards for his acting, so he didn’t need to be a blue alien to get further accolades. Also, Cameron’s movie did fine with the star power that it had, and it’s doing fine with the sequel that is out right now.
Thankfully, despite the 13-year delay, Avatar: The Way of Water brought back a majority of the original cast, including Weaver, Saldana, and Worthington. They also addressed the time skip in many ways, including Saldana and Worthington’s characters having a family by the time the second film starts.
As for how people love it, the overall reception seems to be very positive. The Rotten Tomatoes score is at a “Fresh” rating, and the CinemaScore is holding at an “A” by audiences.
The only question now is how much money the movie will make. The projections say it could make over $500 million in the first weekend worldwide. However, whether that happens or not has been called into question due to the Friday numbers.
Perhaps if Matt Damon was in the sequel, they would’ve had insurance to get that extra cash. Guess we’ll never know.
Source: BBC
