With Avatar: The Way of Water out now in theaters, fans are expressing their surprise at the lack of Michelle Yeoh in the cast. An Avatar 2 Michelle Yeoh cameo or role was confirmed years ago, with The Witcher: Blood Origin actor supposedly playing a scientist called Dr. Karina Mogue. Was Michelle Yeoh cut out of the Avatar 2 cast?
Fans are surprised Michelle Yeoh is not in the Avatar 2 cast
Back in 2021, the official Avatar account confirmed that Everything, Everywhere, All at Once actor Michelle Yeoh had joined the cast of the Avatar sequels as scientist Dr. Karina Mogue. However, now that Avatar 2 is in theaters, it is clear that Yeoh is not in the movie. There is no character called Dr. Karina Mogue in The Way of Water.
Yeoh’s role had been confirmed as recently as April 2022. Following Avatar: The Way of Water’s release, fans have reacted with surprise to the apparent cut of Michelle Yeoh from the movie. There are a few scientist characters in the movie, including Jermaine Clement as Dr. Garvin and a few moments of Sigourney Weaver back as Dr. Grace Augustine. Yeoh is not among them.
However, fans of Michelle Yeoh should not assume she was cut out of Avatar: The Way of Water. In fact, it’s entirely possible she was never meant to be in Avatar 2. The Avatar sequels have mostly been filmed back to back, similar to the Lord of the Rings movies. It seems very likely Michelle Yeoh’s Dr. Mogue will instead appear in Avatar 3 and will probably play a crucial role.
Something similar likely happened with Vin Diesel’s character, who was basically confirmed but is not in Avatar 2. Edie Falco’s character General Ardmore is in the movie but only has a small role, which will likely be expanded in Avatar 3. Avatar: The Way of Water sets up Avatar 3 in multiple ways, so fans will have to wait to see how they pay off — including with Michelle Yeoh’s debut.
