Sigourney Weaver will return for the Avatar sequels despite her character’s death, announced director James Cameron on Tuesday.

Sigourney Weaver Will Star In Avatar Sequels

Weaver played Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar (2009), Cameron’s epic CGI 3-D film about humans invading the alien planet of Pandora. The action film broke box office records around the world and it was quickly announced that sequels were, indeed, in the works. Fans wondered whether Weaver’s character would somehow be revived or reincarnated to facilitate the actress’ return to the franchise, and, Cameron finally put those rumors to rest in an official statement.

Cameron revealed that, though Weaver will be returning to the Avatar set, she would not be putting on Dr. Grace Augustine’s lab coat again.

“Her character of Grace Augustine, as fans know, died in the first movie, so she’s playing a different and in many ways more challenging character in the upcoming films. We’re both looking forward to this new creative challenge, the latest chapter in our long and continuing collaboration,” Cameron announced in a statement.

Lead actors Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana will also return to star in the sequel, as will Stephen Lang. In his statement, Cameron explained that he is bringing Weaver back simply because he enjoys working with her, writing, “Sigourney and I have a long creative history, dating back to 1985 when we made Aliens. We’re good friends who’ve always worked well together, so it just feels right that she’s coming back for the Avatar sequels.”

Cameron had previously announced that all three Avatar sequels would be filmed simultaneously, with the first sequel aiming for a December 2016 release.

“They’re essentially all in pre-production now because we are designing creatures, settings, and characters that span all three films. And we should be finished with all three scripts within the next, I would say, six weeks,” Cameron wrote during a Reddit AMA in April.