Even before her Oscar win for Everything Everywhere All at Once, we were experiencing a Michelle Yeoh boom. Lucky for us, that doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. While the first part of Wicked is hitting theaters this fall, and Star Trek: Section 31 is arriving on Paramount+ early next year, another high-profile project — her involvement in James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar franchise — appears to be further away than anticipated.
That’s because Yeoh’s character isn’t slated to appear in the third film, which was recently confirmed to be titled Avatar: Fire and Ash. She will make her debut in the fourth film, expected in 2029, a full decade after her casting as a scientist named Dr. Karina Mogue was announced back in 2019. This bit of news comes from none other than James Cameron himself, who clarified at the D23 convention that Yeoh is not in part three—that got a little bit misreported
. However, she will indeed feature in parts four and five.
What We Know About Dr. Karina Mogue
Cameron teased some details about Yeoh’s character by saying, She will be coming in soon to do her part, which is an interesting, fun character
. He further discussed the extensive planning that has gone into the production of the sequels, noting, The scripts were all written years ago, through the end of movie five. So we’ve been working on parts of four even as we go along, mostly because we’ve got this young cast. We had to shoot them all while they were still young
.
Bigger and Bolder Plans Ahead
A widely circulated photo showed Yeoh on set with Cameron during the filming of the second and third installments back-to-back, along with portions of the fourth. This staggered shooting schedule was reportedly necessary due to the rapidly aging young stars. While fans won’t see Yeoh in Fire and Ash, Cameron insists it will be worth the wait: We love Michelle … She was always a movie star, but she’s blown up into a huge, huge phenomenon
.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is set to open on December 19, 2025. Stay tuned for more updates as we edge closer to returning to Pandora!
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