Photo: getty
Zoe Saldanais eager to grow as an actress and take on new challenges.
In a recent interview withWomen’s Wear Daily, Saldana, who returns as Neytiri inJames Cameron’s upcomingAvatar: The Way of Waterin late December, said that she has not been “able to expand or grow” in an artistic sense while working on franchise films likeStar Trek,AvatarandGuardians of the Galaxyfor the last decade.
“I feel that for the last 10 years of my life, I’ve been just stuck. I felt stuck doing these franchises,” Saldana told the outlet. “I’m very grateful for the opportunities that they provided, from collaborating with amazing directors and getting to meet cast members that I consider friends and getting to play a role that fans, especially children, love.”
Saldana said during the interview that she “took control over my aging and I took control over my voice” as she took on non-franchise projects like her recent Netflix seriesFrom Scratch(which she also produced) and David O. Russell’s ensemble crime filmAmsterdam, in which she starred opposite Christian Bale and Margot Robbie.
Jose Devillegas/Getty
“I’m so happy that I’m able to collaborate with filmmakers and producers and people in this industry that want that for women, that want women to be ageless and who don’t fetishize women’s youth,” Saldana told the outlet. “And so it’s interesting. It’s really interesting.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Saldana shared her thoughts on seeing the long-awaitedAvatarsequel finally come to fruition 13 years after director Cameron’s original 2009 sci-fi epic.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Zoe Saldaña inAvatar(2009).Disney
Saldana said she is “not aiming to get the same results” withThe Way of WaterthatAvatarwas in terms of financial success, though she hopes the new movie has “a very beautiful impact” on audiences.
“That was a wonderful surprise. We were not expecting it. And the reception was just imaginably beautiful,” Saldana said of the first movie’s breakout success. “Obviously I’m hoping forAvatar 2: The Way of Waterto have a very beautiful impact on people. But it’s not for the sake of breaking any records or making a ton of money.”
“I think this saga is special. It was made with a lot of love and a lot of work,” she told the outlet. “And it’s an experience worth having.”
Avatar: The Way of Water, which brings back Neytiri and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) as parents for a new adventure, is in theaters Dec. 16.
source: people.com
