Neytiri Hand-to-Hand Combat

[Raptor]

I've noticed since watching the film multiple times that we never got to see Neytiri engage in hand-to-hand fighting. Yet, from interviews and news articles about the preparation Zoe undertook, she spent considerable time training in martial arts (you can see a brief clip of this in the Filming Avatar special documentary in the CE package). If there are any combat scenes in Avatar 2 and 3, I would definitely want to see her getting down to using her fists and legs. I certainly want her to maintain her badass-ness.

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“It [English with Na'vi accent] was harder than anything,” she said. “The martial arts, the kicking, the archery, the riding the horse without a saddle — that was all a piece of cake!”

Preparing for the role required months of physical training, including an intensive course in wushu, a martial arts discipline Jet Li is known for. Saldana says it helped define the grace and agility of the Na’vi, who navigate the tangled forests of Pandora with catlike ease. Even though Neytiri is the daughter of the tribal chief, she’s also a skilled hunter and ferocious fighter. Then again, Cameron is known for featuring tough, buffed women in his films.

“I saw ‘Terminator,’ I think, when I was 6 years old,” Saldana said. “I wanted to be Sarah Conner. I wanted to be Ellen Ripley [in ‘Aliens’] more than any fairy tale princess.”