How Avatar: Fire and Ash Filmed Kiri and Spider’s Kiss

In Avatar: Fire and Ash, a scene featuring a kiss between Kiri, a Na’vi teen, and Spider, the adopted human son of Jake and Neytiri, has stirred up plenty of chatter among punters. The main point of contention? Sigourney Weaver, who portrays Kiri, is 76, while Jack Champion, who plays Spider, is now 21 but was just 15 when the scene was shot. This age gap has left some viewers questioning whether the moment was appropriate.

Behind the Scenes: Filming the Kiss

James Cameron, the director, found a clever workaround to avoid any awkwardness or issues. Instead of having Weaver and Champion actually kiss, the production used a body double and some top-notch CGI. Champion kissed a girl his own age, while Weaver also kissed someone else. The two separate shots were then stitched together in post-production, making it look like Kiri and Spider shared a genuine moment on screen.

Cameron explained,

They played the scene and did everything except the kiss. I think it was OK for Sigourney to kiss him on the cheek. There are a lot of rules around intimacy stuff so that was one of the very few times that we had to do something that was just the tiniest bit inauthentic, but we had to do it because we had to do it that way

Why the Kiss Mattered to the Story

The decision to include the kiss wasn’t just for show. Cameron drew from his own experiences as a teenager, recalling how he often found himself shorter than the girls he fancied. In the film, Kiri, being Na’vi, is much taller than Spider, and she leans down to kiss him. Cameron wanted to capture that awkward, young love vibe, rather than a sibling-like relationship between the two characters.

He said,

And I thought, no, let’s play that awkward young love thing where they don’t really know how to express it or confront it. And I just love that image when she kisses him at the waterfall and she’s a head taller than him and she has to kind of bend down. My memory of the seventh and eighth grade was all the girls were taller than me, and it didn’t slow me down at all! I thought they were very cool, even though they were bigger than me.

Cast Reactions and On-Set Dynamics

Weaver backed up Cameron’s approach, saying she was pleased with how the scene turned out and that it felt authentic. She noted,

I believed it. It’s so genuine between the two of them and any concern about Jack’s real age and my real age, I think there’s no room for it there.

Weaver also praised Champion, calling him “terrific.”

She even commented on the height difference, saying,

Being a tall woman myself, height doesn’t matter at all. I love that we’re mismatched. It’s perfect.

The scene, now a talking point among fans, was important for showing the complicated dynamic between Kiri and Spider, moving beyond a simple brother-sister bond.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is currently screening in cinemas across the US.