Zoe Saldana backtracks after comments she felt ‘stuck’ making film franchises

Zoe Saldaña has set the record straight regarding her comments that she has felt “stuck” in film franchises over the past decade.

The actor has starred in the Star Trek, Avatar, and Marvel films, but said in an interview last month that she felt unable to “expand or grow” while appearing in franchises.

However, appearing at the premiere of Avatar: The Way of Water on Monday (12 December) night, Saldana played down her original remarks.

“[Those films] resonated with people so much so that we get a chance to come back again and come back another time,” she told Deadline.

“If anything, I’ve reaped all the benefits of that, I’ve gained friends. I feel like the luckiest girl in this town. I still have mentors that I call and lean into.”

In the original interview, Saldaña admitted that she’d felt less able to play different characters now because she was “stuck doing these franchises”.

“I feel that for the last 10 years of my life, I’ve been just stuck,” she said. “I’m very grateful for the opportunities that they provided, from collaborating with amazing directors and getting to meet cast members that I consider friends and getting to play a role that fans, especially children, love.

“But it also meant that I felt artistically stuck in my craft of not being able to expand or grow or challenge myself by playing different sorts of genres and different roles.”

It comes after Saldaña recently said that she “wouldn’t be upset” if she didn’t appear in another Guardians of the Galaxy film.

“I miss Gamora but I don’t miss 3.30am calls and five-hour makeup sessions and trips to the dermatologist afterwards,” she said.

She also explained that it was the fans that made her “not be cynical about Marvel”.

“They have feelings too and if something impacts them, just because we consider it stupid or immature or cheeky, doesn’t mean it’s not special.”

Saldaña has starred in three of the top five highest-grossing films of all time, an impressive feat yet to be achieved by any other actor.

Avatar: The Way of Water is released in cinemas on Friday 16 December.