Photo: Dave Benett/Getty
“How am I gearing up? By staying absolutely still,” Saldana, 44, tells PEOPLE of how she’s preparing for the sequel’s anticipated release on Dec. 16.
“And just wantingAvatar 2: The Way of Water, wanting its reception to be similar to the first, where people are just taken for a ride,” Saldana says. “Where they get to learn, they get to live, they get to feel, but also they get to think a lot about who we are and what we are and where we are.”
Saldana returns as Neytiri for the new film, which “begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure,” according toan official logline for the movie.
“Avatarreally was… It was a special experience for many,” Saldana tells PEOPLE. “And I just hope that experience repeats itself.”
Zoe Saldaña inAvatar(2009).Disney
According toThe Hollywood Reporter, Disney and 20th Century Studios reported that the teaser forAvatar: The Way of Waterracked up 148.6 million views worldwide in its first 24 hours of releaseacross various channels when it dropped publicly in May.
Saldana, who also stars in the upcomingReese Witherspoon-producedNetflixseriesFrom Scratch, happened to take on her latest project after a dinner with Witherspoon.
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“We were at dinner with our partners and some common friends,” recalls Saldana about how she came to portray Amahle “Amy” Wheeler in the adaptation of Tembi Locke’s memoirFrom Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home. “And I guess she saw the dynamic between my husband [Marco] and I, and then called me up the next day or a week later to tell me that her company, they had read this book, and it was going to be a part of their club.”
At the time, theNew York Timesbest seller hadn’t been released yet, but Witherspoon, 46, strongly felt Saldana would have a real interest in it. In the end, Saldana wound up pulling double duty as a lead actor and executive producer on the series.
“I was a little nervous because you’re scared to open up your heart to something that you know has an eminent ending,” the actress tells PEOPLE, but she decided to take on the role anyway.
Avatar: The Way of Wateris set to hit theaters Dec. 16.From Scratchpremieres Oct. 21 on Netflix.
source: people.com
