A particular character in Avatar: The Way of Water, along with 2019’s teases from the actor, has led many to believe that Vin Diesel is in Avatar 2.
In Avatar: The Way of Water, a specific character has returned from the 2009’s original movie. This has led many fans to wonder if Vin Diesel has played a part in James Cameron’s franchise.
Avatar: The Way of Water features returning characters in addition to a host of new introductions within the world of Pandora.
Similar to its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water has a cast stacked with talent. From Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri, Zoe Saldaña) to the return of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). The cast is undefeatable.
However, one character has piqued the fans’ interest as they are questioning if Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel has a part to play in Avatar: The Way of Water. The question was raised back in 2019 when the actor shared an Avatar teaser with director James Cameron.
The character in question is Corporal Lyle Wainfleet.
Is Vin Diesel In Avatar: The Way Of Water?
The one-word answer is No.
Vin Diesel is not in Avatar: The Way Of Water.
The character, Corporal Lyle Wainfleet, who was also in James Cameron’s original Avatar, returned from the first movie. Actor Matt Gerald is once again playing Wainfleet. Matt bears a striking resemblance to Diesel which stirred confusion. In the original Avatar, Wainfleet is part of the RDA’s security force and serves Quaritch in their war against the Na’vi.
Unlike in the original Avatar, Gerald in Avatar: The Way of Water played the same character. but he portrayed Wainfleet in his Avatar form, with the RDA security force returning as Recombinants.
The small appearance of Wainfleet’s human form at the beginning led to this confusion over Diesel’s potential role in the film.
While Gerald returns for Avatar: The Way of Water, playing the same character, this time, he portrays Wainfleet in Avatar form. The small appearance of Wainfleet’s human form at the beginning leads to confusion over Diesel’s potential role in the film.
What confused?
It wasn’t the resemblance of Vin with Matt that led people to believe Vin was a part of the film. The confusion or the affirmation of Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel’s part in the movie began with the actor’s 2019 Instagram post.
In April 2019, Diesel shared a video of himself and James Cameron on social media. In the video, the director clearly states that the two of them are on the set of Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5. Although the video was left purposefully unclear about which movie was being worked on at the time yet, it has since been revealed that Avatar 4 is only partially shot and Avatar 3 is near completion. In addition to that, Diesel will likely be a part of this saga.
Although heavily implied, the video did not straightforwardly confirm that Vin Diesel will be involved in the Avatar sequels.
But at the 2019 premiere of Avengers: Endgame, Diesel told Entertainment Tonight that his relationship with Zoe Saldana is partly behind his role in Avatar.
This was convincing enough to believe that Vin is in the incoming Avatar films.
Now, after the release of Avatar 2, fans are looking for Vin and got confused with Matt Gerald.
Vin Diesel’s absence from the second part doesn’t conclude his absence from the saga. The actor’s part in the third sequel is almost guaranteed because the second and third movies are shot back-to-back.
News about Avatar 3
As ever, the director James Cameron is being bold with his plans for the franchise. He has a whopping four sequels mapped out, the first of which is The Way Of Water which splashed onto screens on December 16th.
Avatar 3 is currently in post-production and is ahead of its release in December 2024.
Impressively, the filming of the second and third movies as well as, some of the fourth took place at the same time between September 2017 and December 2020. The live-action filming in New Zealand faced delays thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beyond Avatar 2 and 3, the fourth and fifth films in the series are also under development.
