James Cameron Vows to Prepare His Avatar 2 Cast By Making Them Go Method, Indigenous-Style

James Cameron’s recent trip to Brazil wasn’t just about attending sustainability forums with Bill Clinton and posing for tribal photos with Arnold Schwarzenegger — it was about getting in the mindset for the Avatar sequel. For Cameron, this meant enjoying a restaurant dinner with the Caipo tribe, vowing to name a character in Avatar 2 after himself, and threatening to submerge the cast of his sequel into the indigenous lifestyle.

After dining with five members of the Caiapo tribe during his South American adventure, the Avatar director told reporters that the chief had baptized him “Krapremp-ti,” which translates to “man who is a friend of the jungle.” Cameron then vowed to not only name a character in his sequel “Krapremp-ti,” but to pack up his cast and take them to the far reaches of the Brazilian rain forest so that they could be inspired themselves.

“Avatar is a film about the rain forest and its indigenous people,” Cameron told reporters. “Before I start to shoot the two films, I want to bring my actors here, so I can better tell this story. Actors could learn about the natives and what real life in the jungle is like.”

Additionally, Cameron was so impressed by the tribe that he admitted Avatar would have been even better had he visited the Caiapo beforehand.