Meet The Maine Native Shaping The Avatar Universe

When the latest chapter of James Cameron’s Avatar saga hit theaters on December 19, a Mainer was once again at the heart of the cinematic spectacle.

Eric Saindon, a 1988 graduate of Gorham High School, is the visual effects supervisor for Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third installment in Cameron’s globe-spanning sci-fi epic. From WetaFX’s headquarters in Wellington, New Zealand, Saindon oversees a team of about 1,200 artists who have the task of building Pandora, its landscapes, and creatures, shot by shot.

If WetaFX sounds familiar, it's the studio that helped redefine modern moviemaking with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, including the unforgettable creation of Gollum. Saindon has been part of that legacy for decades. He served as FX supervisor on the original Avatar in 2009 and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, which earned WetaFX the Academy Award for visual effects in 2022.

Fire and Ash continues the story of the Sully family, with returning stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, and Kate Winslet. This time, they face a new threat in the form of a hostile Na’vi group known as the Ash People, who are tied to fire and volcanic regions of Pandora. The film introduces new environments and cultures, including the peaceful Wind Traders, while exploring themes of conflict and misunderstanding that resonate far beyond the screen.

In an interview with the Gorham Times, Saindon says his job is to guide each visual effect from early concept to final cut, making sure the technology serves the story’s emotional core. Working with Cameron, he adds, is “a masterclass in storytelling and innovation.”

For a kid from Maine, it’s a long way from Gorham to Pandora, but Saindon keeps proving that world-class filmmaking can start right here at home. Two more Avatar sequels are already in the works, slated for release later this decade.