Avatar: James Cameron explains why he made the Na’vi blue

Last Updated on December 1, 2022

James Cameron first presented the beautiful world of Pandora to audiences with Avatar over a decade ago. Populated by various unique creatures, Pandora was home to the Na’vi, a race of ten-foot-tall aliens who just so happen to be blue.

James Cameron recently spoke with Empire for their January 2023 issue and was asked why he decided to make the Na’vi blue in Avatar. It turns out that there’s not any grand reasoning behind the choice, it was simply the only colour he felt wasn’t taken by other cinematic characters. “As for the colour: green was taken. There was a long history of green aliens. Plus, the Hulk. And the human colours, pinks and browns, weren’t alien. SpongeBob was yellow,” Cameron explained. “That pretty much left blue and purple. Purple is my favorite colour, but I figured we’d use that for one of our main bioluminescence colours, which we did, associating it with Eywa and anything sacred to the Navi.” The Smurfs would like a word, Mr. Cameron.

The Avatar director also found a source of inspiration for the Na’vi in a rather strange dream his mother told him. “Also, my mom told me about this dream she had where there was a ten-foot-tall blue woman with six breasts,” Cameron explained. “Cool image. I drew her, but the six breasts thing didn’t come out looking as good as it sounds, plus would mess with the rating. So, anyway … blue.” That’s… something.

The long-awaited release of the first Avatar sequel (the first of four) is now less than a month away. Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water tells the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive,  and the tragedies they endure.  Avatar: The Way of Water will hit theaters on December 16th.