Avatar has become a cult classic since its theatrical debut in 2009, so much so that Saturday Night Live created an infamous skit with Ryan Gosling.
In the 2017 show, Gosling played a deranged man named Steven, upset with the idea that Avatar’s graphic designer used the Papyrus font for the film’s logo. Throughout the spoof, this obsession causes Gosling’s character to do many questionable things, like becoming extremely restless, going off on his therapist, and stalking the designer.
To make matters even more funnier, the Avatar team watched the skit. On Dec. 8, during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the film’s producer Jon Landau, who is currently promoting Avatar‘s sequel Avatar: The Way of Water, revealed his initial thoughts about the SNL spoof. When asked if he’s seen it, Landau disclosed he did and expressed how happy he was that the movie “stimulated a conversation,” even if it was about the film’s logo.
“Yes, I’ve seen that. Ryan Gosling. Absolutely saw it. It’s fun that it stimulated a conversation.”
Further in the discussion, Landau revealed that after Avatar‘s success and after the team was made aware of the future sequels, they went back to the drawing board to create a new font for the logo, which is named Toruk.
“When we realized that the movie was going to expand into a franchise and we’d have other IPs, we went out and created our own font that we’re now using, and we call it Toruk, and it’s available for people to use.
Landau later added that he thoroughly enjoyed the skit because it showcased Avatar‘s influence since its release.
But the Papyrus font is a fun thing, and I also love the fact that… it was certainly several years after the movie came out, and I guess it illustrated to people who were questioning Avatar’s cultural relevance that it was still part of the culture.”
Landau isn’t the only Avatar alum that has responded to the SNL skit, as the film’s director, James Cameron, shared his thoughts with Empire Magazine (via Slash Film) last month. Cameron stated that he liked the logo’s font and didn’t understand its commotion:
“I was not aware that our font was an off-the-shelf thing; I assumed the art department or the title company came up with it. Of course, it was trolled mercilessly as a lazy choice, but frankly, I like the font.”
Avatar: The Way of Water is set to hit theaters on Dec. 16.