We already knew that some of the primary cast members from James Cameron‘s ‘Avatar‘ would be returning and now have learned that Dileep Rao (‘Inception,’ ‘Drag Me to Hell’) will be reprising his role as Dr. Max Patel. It isn’t made clear if he will be in all of the sequels at this time but will be in at least ‘Avatar 2’ which drops on December 18th, 2020. If you can’t remember his part from the original movie, he helped synch humans with their Avatar bodies and supported the team involved in the process.
Rao will be joining other returning cast members including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, and Giovanni Ribisi. Joining them will be Kate Winslet, Oona Chaplin, and Cliff Curtis who will be new characters in the upcoming movies. As Patel was one of the last human characters allowed to stay on Pandora at the end of the first film it only makes sense that he would pop up again.
We’ve heard rumors of time jumps and a focus on family that would span all 4 ‘Avatar’ sequels. If this ends up being the case, it could be a stretch to see Rao back for all the films depending on how long these jumps are. Unless, of course, he ends up also bonding with a Na’vi Avatar and becomes one in the way which Jake did. If they do go over the course of multiple generations, having the character pass away at some point from natural causes or even from warfare with humanity could prove to be an emotionally touching moment which the movies need.
Are you happy to hear that we’ll have another familiar with Dileep Rao again playing Dr. Max Patel? Do you think that Rao will be in all of the ‘Avatar’ sequels or likely only the next outing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
‘Avatar 2’ is slated to release on December 20, 2020, ‘Avatar 3’ comes out on December 17th, 2021, ‘Avatar 4’ on December 20th, 2024, and finally ‘Avatar 5’ on December 19th, 2025.
Source: Deadline
