10 Movie Characters Everyone Was CONVINCED Would Die (But Didn't)

The marketing for Avatar: The Way of Water heavily played up the prospect of a member of the Sully clan perishing, with the second trailer pointing quite decisively to Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) being the most ripe target.

After all, what would be more harrowing than the series' fiery heroine sacrificing herself to save her family in full-on Mama Bear mode?

If nothing else, it would've certainly switched-up the dynamic for the remaining three Avatar movies, with Jake (Sam Worthington) being forced to care for his kids as a solo parent.

But in actual fact Neytiri survives, with it instead being her son Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) who is fatally shot by one of Quaritch's (Stephen Lang) men during the climax.

As sad as it was to lose Neteyam, Neytiri dying so early in the Avatar saga would've been a staggering waste of Zoe Saldana's talents, considering she gives easily the best performance in either of the Avatar movies to date.