Avatar: Fire and Ash explores trust, loss, and family fracture, says Zoe Saldaña

Zoe Saldaña is opening up about the emotional and personal challenges behind her return as Neytiri in “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” The actor says stepping back into the Na’vi warrior’s skin forced her to explore themes of trust, grief, and marital tension in ways she hadn’t expected.

Saldaña explains that Neytiri’s willingness to follow her partner Jake Sully contrasts sharply with her own personality. “I learned so much from Neytiri that there is safety in trusting someone else when they lead… just because a woman is allowing their partner to take the lead, it doesn't mean she’s falling back into weakness,” she says. “She taught me to have that kind of humility that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to acquire.”

But in “Fire and Ash,” that trust is shaken as the Sully family grapples with the devastating loss of their eldest son. “You see her begin to question it,” Saldaña explains. “I already buried a son, and she’s finding it really hard not to blame him. Families who have experienced a loss like this fight really hard not to play the blame game… but that’s what may pull them apart.”

The film also shifts focus to the Sully children, who increasingly take the lead as their parents struggle. Sigourney Weaver, through performance capture, once again plays Kiri, now a teenager confronting long-unanswered questions about her origins.

Sam Worthington returns as Jake Sully, along with Stephen Lang, while Oona Chaplin joins the franchise as Varang, leader of the Mangkwan tribe. Worthington says director James Cameron’s meticulous approach shapes every aspect of production. “There is a demand for excellence by Jim… he has such an attention to detail,” he says. “Other movie sets don’t compare.”

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” arrives in theaters worldwide on December 19.