Kiri's conception is shrouded in mystery. She is unlike any Na'vi or avatar that the Omatikaya have ever met before. From a very early age, she has had an unusually strong connection to Eywa, even more than that of a tsahìk.
Kiri was born in 2155 through the dormant avatar body of Grace Augustine.[5]Norm Spellman ran tests and determined that Kiri was a parthenogenetic birth: she was genetically identical to Grace and had no father. When Grace's avatar linked to the Tree of Souls for the Consciousness Transfer, a "seed" was planted in her body, resulting in Kiri's birth. Despite the mystery surrounding her conception, she is a naturally born Na'vi who was raised in the rainforests of Pandora.[4] Because Grace had an avatar body, Kiri possesses human-like traits such as her eyebrows and five fingers on her hands. She also lacks the elongated canines common among the Na'vi.
Kiri befriending an ikran.
Jake and Neytiri adopted Kiri after she was born. As she and her adoptive brother Neteyam were born around the same time, they were both simultaneously given a first connection to Eywa at the Tree of Souls in front of the entire Omatikaya clan. Growing up, Kiri has two younger siblings, Lo'ak and Tuktirey. She became very close to Spider Socorro, a human boy born shortly before the Battle of Ayram Alusìng. Kiri tamed her own banshee at a very young age, in an unusual way for the Na'vi, simply by asking it to be her friend instead of using the banshee catcher. This led Jake to view Kiri as an "odd" one of a child.
Kiri and Spider visit Hell's Gate and watch Jake's video logs. Although Spider has doubts about being part of the family, Kiri insists he is and that Neytiri loves him even if she does not show it.
Later, while their parents are attending the council of elders, Kiri and Tuktirey sneak out to the old battlefield at the urging of Spider and Lo'ak. There, among the branches of a tree, they find the wreck of a Samson and a skeleton of a war victim and an ikran; while the boys are fascinated by the machine and view its remains, Kiri teaches Tuk how to pay their respects to the deceased ikran. When the Samson's wreckage slides off the branch and falls to the ground, Tuk and Kiri hang on the vines, which threatens to fall from a great height. Kiri, however, manages to bring herself and her younger sister safely to ground using her strange powers.
An upset Kiri shouts at Jake and Neytiri as she flees in anger.
After the RDA announces their return and her family begin to prepare to move to High Camp, Kiri can not be found by her parents. It turns out that Kiri is at Hell's Gate, trying to convince Nash McCosker to let Spider go with her. Jake and Neytiri find them and also believed that Spider was best with his foster family. Kiri was upset by this and shouts at her parents before fleeing with Neytiri reminding Jake not to follow in order to give Kiri time to process. She comes across Mo'at, Tuk and Lo'ak. Mo'at tells her that change is a part of life and is what someone makes of it. Kiri goes to pray at the Tree of Souls to beg Eywa for help, then resolves to go get Spider.
Kiri finds Spider at Hell's Gate.
When Kiri returns to Hell's Gate, it turns out that Lo'ak and Tuk followed her to help. The siblings go get Spider who hears knocking on his bedroom window. They are soon found by McCosker who says they can be useful, however, he traps Spider and the siblings in separate rooms. Spider is able to escape his cell and frees Kiri, Lo'ak and Tuk. The family becomes involved in another chase and flees into the forest. Although Kiri's banshee Tanhì arrives in an attempt to help the children, the banshee is soon killed by the RDA, much to Kiri's horror. After a series of events involving a crash landing into the ocean, the group is rescued by Norm Spellman and Wu Mingxia.
Kiri joins Tuk, Lo'ak and Neteyam in fetching dapophet in order to make medicine. When Lo'ak accidentally falls into a swamp, Kiri holds a vine in order to get him out.
Later, Kiri is with her family at High Camp. Neytiri suggests they go hunting in order to teach Tuk how to use a bow. Kiri is reluctant as she does not want to have to kill any animals, yet goes with the group anyway. During the hunt, when it's Kiri's turn, she claims she is busy, possibly stalling for time in order to not have to kill anything. After Lo'ak suggests using human weapons to use against the RDA, Neytiri takes everyone to the outskirts of Bridgehead. Unfortunately, a group of Sec-Ops is on a vehicle ground patrol, so Kiri hops on her ikran and hides with her family behind a waterfall.
After her parents and brothers returned from a successful raid on a RDA Mag-Lev Train, Kiri attended to Neteyam's injuries with her grandmother. She insisted that Mo'at should use a different type of bark because it stings less. She then entered the avatar facility to meet her mother's avatar and watch her video logs. Lo'ak and Spider teased Kiri about Norm being her father, to which she reacted with disgust. When Spider was reminded of his father, Kiri replied that he is not his father and does not have to be like him.
Kiri resting in the forest.
Later, Kiri joined Spider, Lo'ak and Tuk in exploring the forest near the abandoned RDA module. While alone, Kiri became lost in embracing the natural world of the forest, soon fell asleep on the forest floor, surrounded by woodsprites. She was later roused by Spider and was embarrassed that she did 'it' again. Lo'ak alerted her and the other siblings that there were a group of six strange "avatars" near the module. Once Lo'ak contacted their father, mother, and Neteyam, they were ordered to retreat back to High Camp.
Kiri trying to escape from Recom Walker.
On the way, they were ambushed by the strangers who were led by the recently resurrected Miles Quaritch. Recom Wainfleet restrained Kiri and noticed she possessed five fingers which made it clear she was a half-breed. Recom Quaritch realized that he not only captured Sully's children, but to his shock his own long-lost son, Miles. The children were slated to be extracted and taken prisoner back to Bridgehead, however Jake, Neytiri and Neteyam arrived and managed to distract the mercenaries long enough for Kiri and the others to escape. Kiri was able to escape Recom Walker's grasp.
Kiri taking a final look at their forest.
However, Spider was not so lucky, as he tripped and fell on the forest floor, out of reach of the fleeing family. Kiri was distraught at being forced to leave her human brother behind in enemy hands. Due to Recom Quaritch targeting Jake for his role in his human body's death and killing RDA personnel, Kiri and the rest of her family were forced to seek refuge with the coastal Metkayina clan.
Living with the Metkayina Clan[]
Ronal body shames Kiri in front of her clan.
The Sully family's reception by the Metkayina clan was less than welcoming, especially by the tsahìkRonal, who disparaged the forest Na'vi's ability to live among them. Ronal was less then willing to allow them into her clan when she examined both Kiri and Lo'ak hands to find that they had five fingers, signifying that they possessed "demonblood". Ronal claimed Kiri and her brother Lo'ak were not true Na'vi, prompting Kiri to exclaim, "Yes we are!" In the end, her father managed to convince Ronal's mate, Tonowari, to let Kiri and her family stay after they invoked uturu.
Kiri happily befriending an ilu in the ocean.
She and her siblings meet three Na'vi children of the clan, Tsireya, Aonung, and Rotxo, who teach them their customs and swim with them in the reef. Upon jumping into the water, Kiri is fascinated and enlightened by the marine life. She is so enchanted by sea creatures and plants that the other children accidentally end up leaving her behind. While adjusting to life on the reef she befriends an ilu and later rides it with Tuk and Tsireya teaching them. On one occasion, she was observed by Ronal controlling a school of small shiny fish.
Kiri being ridiculed by Aonung's group.
While staring at the sand beneath the water surface, engaged in meditation, Kiri is harassed by Aonung and his friends, calling her a freak and not a true Na'vi due to her hands. Lo'ak comes to defend her, though he also becomes a target of bullying by the group. Eventually, Neteyam arrives to warn them to respect his sister, which Kiri then takes the opportunity to stick her tongue at Aonung. As the siblings leave, Aonung makes a quip of them being a family of freaks, prompting Lo'ak to punch Aonung and getting into a physical confrontation with the other boys. The scuffle is joined by Neteyam who backs his brother, amidst Kiri trying to tell them to stop, before laughing at the boys.
Kiri talking to Jake about her connection to Eywa.
Later, while helping her mother prepare food in their dwelling, Neytiri notices Kiri's melancholy, and asks what is wrong. Kiri though says it's nothing, but when gently prompted by Neytiri, Kiri asks Neytiri why can't she be normal. However Neytiri has no answer for this, and can only hug Kiri as Jake watches from afar. At night, while she has her feet in the water, Jake sits next to her to comfort her, listening to her claim that she can 'feel Eywa'. Their bonding is interrupted when Neteyam comes, dragging Aonung to tell his father that he tricked Lo'ak into hunting beyond the reef of the village.
The day after Lo'ak is found and returned, Kiri is among the group to which Lo'ak tells his story about being rescued by Payakan, an exiled tulkun. She tells him that he was blessed by the ocean with a gift when he was able to befriend the creature that was considered dangerous by the Metkayina. When Neteyam ridiculed the story, Lo'ak became angry and steamed off, which led to Kiri calling Neteyam a "skxawng" (idiot).
Kiri embracing Spirit Grace in her vision.
On a trip to the Cove of the Ancestors, the children are introduced to the Spirit Tree, the Metkayina's equivalent of the Tree of Souls, during an eclipse (the best time to visit). After attaching her queue to the tree, Kiri experiences a vision of her mother Grace and the two embrace. Kiri asks Grace about her mysterious existence and who her father is, however before she can get answers, the reunion is suddenly cut short when Grace and Kiri are ripped apart from each other as Kiri's body suffers a violent seizure; drowning in the process. The group of kids quickly come to Kiri's aid; pulling her seizing-then-still body to the water's surface, where Neteyam restores her breathing and rushes her unconscious body back to the village via ilu.
Kiri awakens from her coma.
As Kiri remains unconscious for an unknown length of time, desperate for help, Jake contacts Norm Spellman and Max Patel for assistance. More time passes, and Norm and Max have hooked an I.V. fluid drip to Kiri along with placing electrode sensors on her forehead. Their scans reveal that Kiri's brain is healthy, showing no signs of damage just increased prefrontal neural activity. Ronal enters to provide assistance, however is offended by the human technology, seeing that she's "not needed" and turns to leave. Neytiri stops her, reminding her that she is tsahìk. Ronal requests for the removal of "these things" and Neytiri immediately snaps orders for 'everyone' (Norm, Max, and Jake) to get out as they have "done nothing" to wake her daughter. As Ronal works, the three men converse just outside. Norm tells Jake that he believes Kiri's ability to "hear" and "feel" Eywa are signs of epilepsy and her connecting to the Spirit Tree is some sort of a trigger, and advises Jake that he can't let Kiri do that again; Max warns Jake of the danger that if Kiri were to seize underwater again that it could kill her. Kiri is eventually awakened by Ronal, and immediately begins to weep; her mother and sister comfort her.
An unfortunate outcome of Jake calling Norm and Max for help with his daughter's worrying condition results in the human military being able to track the scientists rogue Samson's intermittent radar signal from the forest out to the ocean, losing it over the open water - the projected flightpath track directing towards the larger archipelago surrounding where the reef people live - giving Recom Quaritch and rest of the 1st Recom Unit a lead to where Jake and his family have travelled to; having sought sanctuary with the Metkayina clan.
Kiri enjoys seeing the tulkun.
Upon the return of the tulkun from their migration, Tuk drags Kiri out of the marui where she is recovering. Kiri watches the pod with fascination before joining Tuk and Rotxo for a playful swim with a tulkun. Later, after Ronal's spiritual sister Ro'a and her calf are killed by Mick Scoresby's team of tulkun hunters, Lo'ak goes to warn Payakan about the RDA; Kiri with Tuk join in, following him to the outcast tulkun.
After the kids successfully pull out the tracking beacon from Payakan, they get involved in an underwater chase involving Crab Suits. As Kiri flees with Tuk, she is separated from Tuk who gets captured in a net along with Lo'ak and Tsireya and taken aboard the SeaDragon. As Kiri, Aonung and Rotxo are pursued, she calls on her bond with Eywa to control undersea flora and fauna, using it to destroy the minisub and entangle the escaping operators to their death.
Kiri handcuffed by Recom Wainfleet.
As Kiri and the two boys surface in the debris field near to the SeaDragon, the Recom Wainfleet immediately snatches her up with his banshee, lifting Kiri out of the water and drops her unceremoniously onto the ship's deck. The banshee then pins her down until Recom Wainfleet dismounts and grabs her, hauling her off. Seeing this, Tuk and Tsireya turn around and climb back onto the sinking ship to save her. They find Kiri handcuffed to the railing of the moon pool, but before they can free her, Quaritch appears, followed by Recom Zdinarsik and Recom Mansk. Recom Quaritch throws Tsireya off the boat and Tuk is handcuffed (for a second time) against a rail; now alongside Kiri.
During the eclipse, Neytiri and Jake board the SeaDragon to save their daughters, who are currently being guarded by Recom Quaritch. After Jake triggers a massive explosion, both hostages and their captor then witness the remaining humans and Recoms get rapidly picked off; when the girls realize it's their parents who are coming to save them, Kiri makes a sour remark to Recom Quaritch, drawing his ire, and Tuk hisses at him in response. After much intense fighting, Jake finally reaches the moon pool and frees a now lone unguarded Tuk.
Kiri being threatened by Recom Quaritch.
Within moments, Recom Quaritch appears from around a corner holding Kiri hostage by pressing his knife against her throat. After witnessing Jake being forced to capitulate to Recom Quaritch's demands, Spider reveals himself in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, hoping to convince Recom Quaritch to let Kiri go. However, Neytiri intercedes, mirroring Recom Quaritch by grabbing and holding Spider at knifepoint. Kiri pleads with her furious mother not to kill Spider and Spider begs Recom Quaritch not to hurt Kiri, while Recom Quaritch claims his son is inconsequential. Eventually, Recom Quaritch releases Kiri when Neytiri threatens to fatally stab his son. Neytiri lets go of Spider in return and tensions seem to calm down a bit.
Kiri and Spider grab hands as the SeaDragon sinks.
As the family retreat into the water, Recom Quaritch and Jake resume fighting, moving further into the interior deck of the sinking vessel. The family are forced back onto the sinking vessel when an explosion ignites leaked fuel that has escaped the critically damaged SeaDragon and spread over the ocean's surface; floating flames blocking their exit. Kiri and Spider then become separated from Neytiri and Tuk after Tuk is flushed down an open shaft and Neytiri dives in after her. Kiri and Spider manage to avoid being trapped and swamped by the ship as it capsizes and sinks; climbing around the exterior from the deck onto the upturned hull. Spider decides to assist Lo'ak in finding Jake, while Kiri decides to use her connection with Eywa to conduct a swarm of squid lanterns to light the inside of the ship so that everyone can find a way out.
Kiri finds her sister and mother.
Kiri follows a path illuminated by the creatures and is able to rescue Neytiri and Tuk. Kiri gives her mother a gill mantle, seemingly because Neytiri has not been seen practicing free-diving while Tuk has been. The family is able to escape and embrace on the surface of the sea; resting atop of one of Payakan's fins. After the eclipse ends, the family are seen having regrouped on the rocky outcrop with Tsireya and Neteyam's body; while the family mourns Neteyam's death, as Jake frees Kiri's wrists of the handcuffs, she is relieved when Spider arrives unharmed and places her hand on his chest.
Kiri during her brother's funeral.
Later, during another eclipse, Kiri attends Neteyam's funeral along with the rest of her family and Spider. Both she and Spider slowly ride out to the spot on an ilu together; Spider reaching forward for support and Kiri securing his hold on her. After they arrive at the site and dismount, Kiri and Spider hold hands as they float at the surface, looking downward as they witness her brother's body being laid to rest at the bottom of the sea in a glowing anemone field (the Metkayina clan's cemetery) by her parents.
Encountering the Mangkwan (Avatar: Fire and Ash)[]
After Spider nearly suffocates, Kiri is upset at Jake and Neytiri because they wish for Spider to return to the humans for his own safety. Kiri insists Spider is part of the family, but yells at Jake that she hates him when he agrees with Neytiri. Kiri agrees to travel with the Tlalim clan to drop Spider off. When Varang and the Mangkwan clan attack, Kiri winds up on the rainforest floor with Lo'ak, Tuk and Spider.
Spider forgot to bring the backup oxygen mask, and collapses from asphyxiation while they are trying to escape the Ash People. Kiri connects her queue to the ground. Based on intuition, she places a woodsprite into his mouth and pushes it down his throat. After his body is enveloped with Eywa's vines, Spider gains the ability to breathe on Pandora.
Varang threatens Kiri.
Eventually, they are trapped by the Ash People whose leader Varang is interested in Lo'ak's gun. Varang wonders how Spider can breathe, and Kiri says it is the will of Eywa. Varang tells Kiri that Eywa has no dominion here. While being held captive, using her power to connect with Eywa, Kiri commands a plant with projectile thorns to kill some of the fighters and they escape with Jake and Quaritch. A group from High Camp including Tarsem, Norm and Neytiri find Jake's group and they return to High Camp.
Kiri learns she is Grace's clone.
During this time, Kiri connects to the Tree of Souls and asks Eywa why she was not more present when Spider nearly died. Kiri begs Eywa to talk to her but is rejected. Kiri learns from Mo'at and Jake that she is a clone of Grace Augustine's avatar, and has no father. Kiri is saddened by the situation, saying it makes her more of a freak. Jake reassures her that she will always be his daughter. Norm tells her she should stop trying to connect to Eywa. Now that Spider can breathe, Kiri decides to return with her family and Spider back to Awa'atlu.
There, Kiri attempts to support Lo'ak when she says "Listen to him!" after he stands up for Payakan to the tulkun council. After his suicide attempt, Kiri encourages him to keep on living, saying they need him and he has greatness in him. Kiri later teaches Spider how to use an ilu, and tells him that she intends to be his guide in the Spirit World someday. Later while the two are alone and gathering fresh water in the forest, Spider sarcastically remarks that she could have made him taller and more blue when she gave him the ability to breathe Pandora's air, to which Kiri tells him that he's perfect the way that he is and then kisses him. The two are then ambushed and Spider is abducted by Quaritch and Varang.
Kiri frightening Varang.
Before the Battle at the Cove of the Ancestors begins, Kiri finds Ronal and tells her that she is here to pray. Ronal tells Kiri that only a chosen one can call upon their Warrior Mother, Eywa. Kiri notices Ronal's contractions and begins fearing for her life, and asks for Kiri that if she can do anything, she must do it. During the battle, Kiri is at a cliff hiding with Tuk, Lo'ak and Spider. However, Kiri jumps into the ocean to beg for Eywa's aid at the Spirit Tree. With Tuk and Spider's assistance when they also link, they see the face of Eywa who calls upon Southern Squidrays. On the Factory Ship, Kiri also saves her mother and Tuk from Varang, by linking their queues which inflicts terror into Varang. Kiri displays the ability to make her queue prehensile.
Some time after the battle, Kiri accompanies Spider to the spirit world, and as she had offered to him before, she acts as his guide, introducing him to the spirit of Grace Augustine in person.
Personality and Traits[]
Kiri sticking her tongue out at Aonung and his friends.
Kiri is a girl with mischievous and somewhat rebellious qualities, making her similar to her brother Lo'ak. For example, she disagreed with her parents Jake and Neytiri, and went to retrieve Spider on her own because she felt deep down it was the right thing to do. On two occasions, she followed Lo'ak, Tuk, and Spider when the group decided to go exploring in locations such as the old battlefield. As a result, her parents view Neteyam as the most responsible one.
Kiri is shown to have a self-deprecating sense of humor, once saying she would kill herself by drinking acid. She can also be seen lightly teasing her siblings for fun, but does not like it when it becomes too mean-spirited, such as when she told Lo'ak to be nicer to Tuk. Despite this, Kiri takes protecting her siblings seriously; she wields a knife and never leaves her village without it, using it to cut medicinal plants, and she keeps healing herbs with her in her pouch for emergencies.
Kiri struggles with self-conscious feelings of being insecure and inept, as if she is awkward and clumsy. She is not a warrior-type like her adoptive parents. She looks up to her family, wishing that she could be more like them, especially Neytiri and Spider.[6] She is very distraught when Spider becomes abducted, as well as when she is forced to leave the forest. Kiri has a "transformative" experience when she jumps into the ocean after arriving at the Metkayina village Awa'atlu, realizing that there is an entire world full of life and beauty below the water's surface, and this discovery helps her to cope with her build-up of melancholy.[4]
Kiri communicating with animals.
Kiri is quite sensitive and very connected to the world around her, far beyond a normal Na'vi — to the animals, to the plants, and to the rhythm and balance of life. This is to the degree that Kiri could very well be closer to Eywa than even the most experienced tsahìks.[5] Kiri even has the ability to control and influence the nature around her to a degree during tsaheylu with Eywa. The bioluminescent markings on her body glow unusually bright and pulsate while she is bonded. After she suffered a seizure while connected to the Spirit Tree, her markings completely faded while she was unconscious.
Animals seem to naturally gravitate towards her presence. For example, she had merely asked an ikran to be her friend. After reaching the Metkayina clan, she immediately befriended an ilu. Fish exclusively swarmed around Kiri's feet when she tried to describe her natural awareness of Eywa's presence to Jake, both with their feet hanging in the water during an eclipse. She explains that Eywa is so close to her that she can hear Eywa's breath and heartbeat. Compared to her siblings, Kiri adapted much more quickly to the free-diving lifestyle of the Metkayina and experiences little to no trouble staying underwater for long periods of time despite a lack of training.
Kiri resting in nature, with woodsprites (omens of Eywa) gathering around her.
Kiri finds fascination in exploring her environment. She enjoys discovering new flora and fauna as well as calming, meditative moments like laying in the grass of the rainforest, bonded with Eywa, and the quiet feeling of being under water, even in shallow depths. While being lost in thought and quiet meditation, her surroundings seem to disappear from her perception, causing her to become the target of bullying by Aonung for being viewed as a "freak".
Even though her biological mother, Grace's avatar, is consciousness-less and unable to physically interact with her, she still has a big influence on Kiri. Similar to Grace, she is interested in botany, giving advice to Mo'at to use yalna bark for treating wounds because it stings less. She wears her mother's necklace and adoptive mother's medicine pouch wherever she goes, shares her fascination for the biology of the moon, enjoys visiting the amnio tank that Grace's avatar is stored in as well as watching video logs of the human Grace. Similar to how Grace enjoyed collecting samples, Kiri enjoys adding items such as rocks and feathers to her clothing; her anklet, for instance, is composed of pebbles from areas that Kiri has explored for the first time. This also serves as a second purpose: being able to show those who are curious her discoveries, similar to when Grace was happy to explain the Tree of Voices to Parker Selfridge.
Kiri's name has been theorized to derive from the Na'vi word atokirina' (the name for a seed of the sacred tree), although it also somewhat resembles the Na'vi rendition of Grace's name (Kìreysì).
When Sigourney Weaver first saw Kiri's initial design, she objected to it because she felt it was "too neat and pretty." She advocated for Kiri to have a messier design and for her to be a more awkward teenager, pointing out that many girls simply do not feel as if they are that "pretty" on the inside.[8] The Avatar: The Way of Water: The Visual Dictionary gives an explanation for her messy hair, attributing it becoming that way while exploring nature. The design also bears strong resemblance to Molly Ossman.
Grace and Kiri's markings.
While it is not surprising that Kiri and Grace share similar skin patterns, it can be noticed that Kiri's marking on her forehead is a completed oval, while the symbol on Grace's was incomplete at the top. It has been theorized this represents Kiri's "third eye" or the Eye of Eywa, as Mo'at said Grace needed to pass through the eye of Eywa.
From a real-world context, this is somewhat similar to bindi marks in the Hindu religion, which features gods like Shiva and Vishnu with blue skin.
Kiri is known for having a mature sounding voice in the English version (voiced by actress Sigourney Weaver herself), and this also applies in the Japanese version as seen in a trailer. Kiri's deeper voice also makes her more similar to Grace, adding to her origins as a clone.
In preparation for the role, Sigourney Weaver visited a high school in New York, sitting in on some classes to observe adolescent teenagers. She found a great range in voices between the students - some with more childlike voices and others with deeper adult voices. She settled on creating a more mature voice for her character.[9]
Due to facial changes as a person gets older, Wētā assembled photos of Sigourney Weaver as a teenager, as well as footage from some of her early movies, to give the team nuanced references in how her face moved at that age and to eventually get Kiri's facial animation just right.[10]
Alicia Vela-Bailey was the stunt double for Sigourney Weaver in some of Kiri's scenes in The Way of Water, including her leap up onto the amnio tank that contained Grace's avatar and the scene in which Kiri met Grace in the spirit world. James Cameron delegated the responsibility to Sigourney to ask Alicia to do things that she could not physically do, and to direct Alicia how to do those things for her.[11][12]
Weaver mentioned portraying Kiri was a cathartic experience for her, as Weaver herself was a "such a miserable" teenager who lacked confidence and had a "lot of despair", and felt her high school years in the 1960s felt like "survival". Weaver relates to Kiri's struggle and said it was "very healing" to portray her.[13]
Similar to how Grace's avatar could be seen wearing Sylwanin's necklace, Kiri can be seen wearing human Grace's necklace. However, Kiri wears the necklace mirrored, with the large cluster of beads resting on her right side, while Grace wore it with the cluster of beads lying on her left side.
Some viewers mishear her name as "Kitty" due to the accents and a lack of clear pronunciation.[14]
Kiri mentions she prefers to believe her father was a handsome and brave Na'vi warrior who died valiantly in the major battle against the RDA, before him and Grace could declare their secret love.
Kiri does not call Neytiri "mother" and walks away from her in frustration:
NEYTIRI: "What is wrong, Kiri?"
KIRI: "Nothing, Neytiri. I’m fine. Why would I not BE FINE?!"
NEYTIRI: "So I am not called Mother now?"
Aonung apologizes to Kiri for his behavior before while they are hiding in an airbell from the RDA, causing her to point out the awkward timing:
AONUNG: "Kiri, I am sorry I was such a skxawng, before."
KIRI: "You want to talk about this NOW?"
The mystery of Kiri's father is resolved before the film ends. This plot reveal was moved to Fire and Ash.
It can be theorized the reason Kiri looks so annoyed while taking the Sully family picture is that Neytiri may have excluded Spider from it.
When Kiri is being held hostage by Recom Fike, she begins to repeatedly pray to Eywa. It is possible she did this not out of fear, but in order to annoy and eventually distract Fike, giving her parents (Neytiri) an opening shot when he is off-guard.
Kiri has two mothers: Grace's avatar (her biological mother) and Neytiri (her adoptive mother). Kiri addresses Grace as "Ma" and Neytiri as "Mom".
Both Kiri and her mother Grace Augustine share the nickname "Buttercup" in somewhat mirrored circumstances between the first and second Avatar films. As seen in the Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition, an extended deleted scene titled 164-172 "The Challenge" shows Miles Quaritch invading Site 26. He calls Grace "Buttercup" before ordering a SecOps trooper to cuff her. In response to being cuffed and physically forced out of Site 26, Grace yells at Quaritch "You tin pot dictator!". In Avatar: The Way of Water, during the Skirmish at the Three Brothers, Kiri is snatched out of the Eastern Sea by Recom Wainfleet on his banshee and dropped on the deck of the SeaDragon. After dismounting, as he apprehends her and forces her to walk across the deck, he calls her "Buttercup". Kiri retorts by saying "I'm not your buttercup, perv!" and is then quickly handcuffed to a rail. Human Lyle Wainfleet was present during the Site 26 raid fifteen plus years earlier and heard Quaritch call Grace "Buttercup".
It's unknown if Recom Wainfleet actively recognized Kiri as being biologically related to Grace, or if he was under the assumption of Kiri being truly one of Jake and Neytiri's half-breed offspring - a biological sibling to Lo'ak. Either way, it creates a callback / 'history repeats itself' moment by the script writers; where both mother and daughter share a similar experience of being called "Buttercup" by SecOps personnel right before they are handcuffed and forced to go somewhere they don't want to.
Kiri bleeding after her throat is cut.
When Recom Quaritch holds Kiri hostage, his knife cuts into her throat slightly, causing her to bleed.
During Omaticon 2025, actress Bailey Bass who plays Tsireya stated that Kiri's seizure wasn’t one at all, and that “it was more than epilepsy.”
There is a deleted scene of Kiri trying to convince Jake to become Toruk Makto.
Kiri's "Leave my mother alone, bitch!" line is most likely a reference to Ellen Ripley's line at the end of Aliens, also a James Cameron film starring Weaver.
Weaver did not kiss Jack Champion while filming. For the purposes of the scene, an age appropriate actor named Oli made a video mentioning she was hired for the kissing scene, and that it was her first kiss ever.
In 2025, James Cameron mentioned: "That was Sigourney playing 15-year-old Kiri across both movies, which actually worked great, because she’s got a story arc across the two movies." in response to a question about when the films were shot.[3] This conflicts with promotional material for TWoW in which Sigourney Weaver has repeatedly said in multiple interviews that her character is 14-years-old, as well and Cameron also mentioning the character being 14.[15] This suggests Kiri turned 15 around the time of Fire and Ash,
Sigourney Weaver mentions that Kiri in Fire and Ash "still has trouble connecting with the ancestors; the one thing the Na’vi people can count on is closed off to her and that’s confusing and upsetting."[16] This echoes a portion of the Avatar: The Way of Water screenplay that was cut from final production. On page 85, after Kiri awakens with help from Ronal, Ronal says to Neytiri and Jake Sully: "Eywa has folded ears to your daughter."
This plot point about Kiri being unable to connect to Eywa (along with Spider being saved) in Fire and Ash was first revealed in an accidental script leak on March 28, 2023 with the digital home release of Avatar: The Way of Water.[17][18] The information was sourced from the "Building the World of Pandora" featurette as part of "Inside Pandora's Box" at minute mark 02:39 - 02:43.[19] The script pages shown in this featurette have since been blurred out on streaming platforms.
Other[]
James Cameron mentioned Kiri will become more central and compelling, with her story being a running thread throughout the saga.[20]
In the Nintendo DS game, Nok was called the Alaksi Nari ("ready eye"), a cognitive manifestation of Eywa's connection between Pandora and its creatures, whereby a Na'vi is chosen to reveal threats to this ecosystem. Even though the DS game is no longer canon, it could be thought that Kiri is fulfilling the role as the next Alaksi Nari, or a similar purpose.
Kiri is a brand of cream cheese by the French company Bel.
„I hate you times infinity, Lo'ak! Penis face!“- Arguing with Lo'ak as a child over a toy.
„Yeah, monkey boy, that really sucks... for you.“- To Spider when he complains about needing to wear an oxygen mask.
„You do not deserve to live.“- Angry at Lo’ak joking about Norm being her father.
„I would kill myself. I would drink acid.“- Contemplating Norm being her father.
„Spider, you are not him.“- Encouraging Spider to disassociate from Quaritch.
„We are never supposed to come here. Dad is going to ground you, for life!“- To Lo'ak when she realizes they are by the old shack which they are not allowed to go to.
„...Thank you.“- Kiri while rolling her eyes at the Metkayina's clan not-so-warm welcome.
„Why can't I just be like everyone else...?“- Kiri reflecting on herself.
„I feel her, Dad... Eywa. I hear her breathing. I hear her heartbeat. She's so close. She's just there. Like a word about to be spoken... I know you think I'm crazy.“- Kiri to Jake.
„That's right, they're coming for you!“- Kiri threatening Recom Quaritch that her parents are coming for revenge.
„Just kill him, Dad!“- Kiri pleading her father Jake to kill Recom Quaritch.
„Mom, don’t kill him!“- Kiri to her mother Neytiri when she seizes Spider at knifepoint.
„Thank you, Great Mother! Thank you.“- Kiri thanking Eywa for helping her family with squid lanterns.
Avatar: Fire and Ash[]
„And what kind is that, mother? Alien? Pink-ass? You hate them so much, that's all you see! It's Spider... Spider is part of this family!“- Kiri criticizing Neytiri's hatred of humanity.
„Brother... Stay in this life, brother... we need you. You have greatness in you.“- Kiri to Lo'ak after he attempts suicide.
„There is something you are not telling me. Tell me the truth!“- Kiri demands to know her origins
„You are perfect, just the way you are.“- Before kissing Spider
„I call upon the warrior mother!“- Kiri in battle.
„Leave my mother alone... BITCH!“- Kiri assaulting Varang
↑Cameron, James; Jaffa, Rick; Silver, Amanda (2015-12-01). Avatar: The Way of Water screenplay, page 14. "KIRI and SPIDER (now 14) look up as TUK (6) runs toward them."
↑girlygurlgirl81 (2023-03-29). Twitter post. Twitter.com. "This is getting a lot of attention. If you’re suspicious and need a credible source, the original stems from u/hdk759 on Reddit, who have, to the best of their abilities, made a transcript of a script page visible in the special feature of, “Building the World of Pandora”."
