Indigenous actress Q’orianka Kilcher has filed a lawsuit in California accusing director James Cameron and the Walt Disney Company of using her facial features to develop a character in the “Avatar” franchise. Multiple outlets report that Kilcher alleges the character Neytiri was modeled on her appearance after Cameron saw her in connection with Terrence Malick’s 2005 film “The New World,” where Kilcher appeared as Pocahontas when she was 14.
According to the complaint as described by several sources, Kilcher says Cameron’s design team “extracted” or otherwise took her facial features and created materials such as moldings, drawings, and 3D renderings based on her face. Kilcher also alleges that Disney, which controls the “Avatar” films, is responsible because of its role in the franchise’s production.
The outlets also frame the dispute as part of a broader concern within the acting industry about control over performers’ likenesses, particularly in the context of modern digital and AI-enabled image creation. The reported allegations have not been established in court, and the case remains pending.
