Credit: Inside the MagicAmerican actor Matt Damon recently opened up about James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, commenting it’s “the dumbest thing an actor ever did in the history of acting.”
James Cameron’s Avatar franchise has had a massive impact worldwide, with Avatar (2009) and its long-awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) becoming two of the highest-grossing movies in history and even triggering the construction of Pandora – The World of Avatar, a breathtaking land at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom theme park — which legendary Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde helped develop — and the ongoing development of a new Avatar-inspired experience at Disneyland Resort.
However, the popular franchise brings bitter memories for American actor Matt Damon, who recently opened up about what he considers “the dumbest thing an actor ever did in the history of acting.”
During a recent interview with ET, Damon jokingly asked Zoe Saldana — who stars in the Avatar franchise as Neytiri — if Avatar: The Way of Water had come out before both actors busted out laughing. But Matt’s laugh quickly stopped when ET’s Rachel Smith asked the actor about his choice to turn down an opportunity to be a part of the franchise.
“The dumbest thing an actor ever did in the history of acting,” said Damon as he recalled the lead role of Jake Sully being offered to him, which was ultimately given to Sam Worthington.”She’s been in four movies that have each made over $2 billion. I’ve probably done, like, 50 movies. I’ve never been in a movie that made $1 billion,” added Damon.
Zoe Saldana chimed in to say, “I don’t think your career suffered because of it, trust me.” Matt Damon has been the star of the Bourne film franchise, Good Will Hunting (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998), The Martian (2015), Ford v Ferrari (2019), and School Ties (1992) — without mentioning his MCU cameos in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022). However, as he said, none of those roles have put the actor past the $1 billion mark.
While Matt Damon and Zoe Saldana — who also plays Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers movies as part of the MCU — didn’t co-star in the Avatar franchise, they were brought together by Stella Artois’ new “Let’s Do Dinner” campaign, which celebrates authentic connections around a dinner table, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Water.org, a charity which Damon co-founded that works to bring clean water to those who need it.
While Matt Damon is a Disney fan at heart, visiting Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Park, visiting Pandora – The World of Avatar in Disney’s Animal Kingdom might not be in the actor’s priorities, as the highly immersive land could bring bitter memories of his decision to turn down his chance to be a part of the franchise.
Although the lead role of Jake Sulley slipped through Matt Damon’s fingers, the actor could undoubtedly join the franchise in a different role, as the story of Pandora is planned to spawn another three sequels. However, this is purely speculative, as the actor has not shared any plans of joining the franchise. Stay tuned to Inside the Magic for the latest entertainment and theme park news.
Are you a fan of the Avatar franchise? Would you like to see Matt Damon join the cast of the next installment? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!