New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis lands lead role in the next four Avatar films

Publish Date: Tuesday, 9 May 2017, 1:32PM

Cliff Curtis is well known for his roles in Once Were Warriors, Whale Rider and also Fear the Walking Dead. He's now just landed a huge role cast as a lead in the four new Avatar films!

Avatar remains the highest-grossing film of all time following its release in 2009, hauling in over NZ$4 billion at the global box office.

Producer Jon Landau revealed the news exclusively to the New Zealand Herald today, saying he and Cameron were "really excited".

"Not only is Cliff a great actor but he is a great person too," said Landau from his Los Angeles office.

Curtis will play Tonowari, who is the leader of the Metkayina, the reef people clan.

Landau said he and Cameron, who are members of New Zealand's screen advisory board, have followed Curtis' career from Once Were Warriors through to Dark Horse.

"No one shines brighter than Cliff," said Landau, adding that Curtis is "a shining example of the extraordinary creative talents from New Zealand's film community that have drawn us to produce our films in the country".

Curtis will join returning cast members Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver on the shoot, which will begin production at Wellington's Stone Street Studios next year.

The first of the four sequels is due for release in December 2020, and the final film is set for release in 2025.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.

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