James Cameron, Walt Disney, Wētā Digital and other production companies are being sued by indigenous actor Q’orianka Kilcher for "stealing her likeness" to create a key Avatar character.
In the complaint filed earlier this week, the Peruvian actor and activist alleged Cameron "extracted, replicated, and commercially deployed her facial likeness" in developing the character Neytiri, who featured in all three of the franchise’s films.
The character was played by Zoe Saldaña.
It's claimed, in documents filed with District Court for the Central District of California, the New Zealand-based filmmaker directed his design team to use an LA Times promotional photograph of Kilcher for the 2005 film The New World as the basis for Neytiri.
Avatar was described in the court filing as “a hugely lucrative film franchise that presented itself as sympathetic to Indigenous struggles, all while silently exploiting a real Indigenous youth behind the scenes".
According to the court documents, Kilcher only became aware of how her face was allegedly used in August 2025 after seeing a clip from a interview with Cameron originally published on YouTube in April 2024.
In the video, the filing said, the filmmaker gave a guided tour of his career, including the making of Avatar.
"For the first time in a public forum, Cameron explicitly admits the full truth about Neytiri’s design.
"Cameron points to an image of Neytiri and says unambiguously: 'This is her [Q’orianka Kilcher’s] lower face,'" the document said.
He allegedly goes on to describe the use of Kilcher's face as a "keystone" of the blue-skinned Na'vi design process.
The filing alleged Cameron said previous designs had lacked humanity, and he used the LA Times photo to "build empathy" for the character.
In the interview, Cameron also mentioned meeting Kilcher at an event following the release of the first Avatar film, the complaint said.
In the court documents, it was alleged Cameron gave Kilcher a note that read, “Your beauty was my early inspiration for Neytiri. Too bad you were shooting another movie. Next time.”
In the court file, she was said to be initially confused by this note.
“[The] plaintiff had never been offered an audition or role in Avatar.”
This was despite her agent’s efforts to get her an opportunity to read for a role, the complaint claimed.
The lawsuit described Kilcher's alleged reaction to seeing part of the YouTube interview in August 2025 after clips had begun circulating online.
“She watched and listened as he coolly described on camera how he took her face for Neytiri and how essential it was to Avatar’s success. [The] plaintiff was shocked, heartbroken, and felt utterly betrayed.
“Here was someone she admired as an ally – who spoke about protecting Indigenous cultures – openly bragging that he had done to her the very thing his villains do in Avatar: exploit and appropriate.
"In reality, by stealing her likeness, they foreclosed the chance of her involvement."
1News has contacted Cameron, Wētā FX and Disney for comment.
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