Movies & Series

‘Avatar 2’ Na’vi would be very different (and rare): that was the original plan

January 30, 2023
6:04 PM

“Avatar: The Way of Water” took 13 years to release because of James Cameron, because he wanted the technology to be on par with his vision. Even the production of the first one in 2009 was also delayed and with many changes.

The original film starring Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver introduces audiences to the world of Pandora and the humanoid creatures that inhabit it, called the Na’vi, who have blue skin and tall stature.

Today the appearance of the Na’vi is familiar to millions of people who have seen the first film and the sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” in 2022. However, its design was to be very different.

You can also see Sigourney Weaver on “Red Lights” on ViX+, ViX’s premium streaming service.

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’: the Na’vi would be very different

The Na’vi became very recognizable for their alien yet familiar design, having long tails, pointed ears, as well as hair that allows them to connect with the planet’s flora and fauna.

But at the start of production, James Cameron planned for them to be very different, even weirder than they ended up on screen.

In a series of questions for the January 2023 issue of “Empire Magazine,” the director told Sigourney Weaver that the process of creating the perfect design for Pandora’s natives was extensive.

“The Na’vi design was the result of an intensive design process with some really talented creature and character artists. Some of the early designs were very amphibious or lizard-like. I wanted people to be able to relate to them.”

As for color, Cameron said that many aliens in popular culture are green, SpongeBob is yellow, humans are pink and brown, so he was pretty much left with the choice of purple or blue.

“Purple is my favorite color, but I thought we’d use it for one of the main bioluminescence colors, which we did, connecting it to Eywa and anything sacred to the Na’vi. Also, my mom told me about a dream she had where there was a light blue woman ten feet tall with six breasts. Big picture.”

‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’: this was the original design of the characters in concept art

Many of the original designs were kept secret by the studio and the artists who made them, until now when the book The Art of Avatar James Cameron’s Epic Adventure by Lisa Fitzpatrick revealed one.

The image is the creation of artist Joseph C. Pepe, who also shared it on his Instagram page, and shows a Na’vi tribal leader in a photorealistic style at Cameron’s request.

The artist said the cartoonists were given the script to read and get an idea of the characters and then had 14 days to come up with the design and show it to Cameron.