It was three years ago that James Cameron expanded his Avatar universe with the aquatic Metkayina clan of Pandora, as suggested by the title The Way of Water. In the same vein, Avatar: Fire and Ash will introduce the Ash People, with the first trailer offering an extended look at the new Na’vi clan in action… and at war.
Previously shown exclusively in theatres ahead of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the clip has been officially revealed by Disney following online leaks. In it, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington, Clash of the Titans), his partner Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña, Guardians of the Galaxy), and their family are reeling from the loss of eldest son and brother Neteyam, as they join forces with the Metkayina to fight against the Ash People, led by Varang, who have seemingly allied with Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang, Tombstone), now sporting dramatic white, black, and red warpaint.
Varang, as previously reported, is played by Game of Thrones star Oona Chaplin, representing a morally complex character who will do whatever it takes to protect her people, even if it means resorting to questionable actions. Also reprising their roles are Sigourney Weaver (Alien) as Kiri, the adopted daughter of Jake and Neytiri, and Jack Champion (Scream VI) as Spider.
The film’s official synopsis reads, “Jake and Neytiri’s family grapples with grief after Neteyam’s death, encountering a new, aggressive Na’vi tribe, the Ash People, who are led by the fiery Varang, as the conflict on Pandora escalates and a new moral focus emerges.”
While a runtime hasn’t been announced, Cameron shared that Avatar: Fire and Ash “will be a bit longer” than its predecessor, which clocked three hours and 12 minutes. Both the forthcoming threequel and The Way of Water were originally conceived as one film, but the director split them into separate movies once the story started to flesh out.
“We had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie two,” said Cameron. “The [film] was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character. So I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to split it.’”
Doing so allowed for a deeper exploration of the Sully family dynamics, with Lo’ak taking a more central role in the Fire and Ash. The villains, too, will get their time to shine, bringing a nuanced touch to the simplistic dichotomy of “good versus evil” rhetoric, as Cameron explained:
One thing we wanted to do in this film is not be black-and-white simplistic. We’re trying to evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm. [Oona Chaplin] is so good that I didn’t quite appreciate how good her performance is until we got the Wētā animation back. She’s an enemy, an adversarial character but [Chaplin] makes her feel so real and alive.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third instalment out of a planned five films, set to bow on 19 December 2025. Much of the footage has already been shot, with the fourth and fifth movies slated for 21 December 2029 and 19 December 2031, respectively.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
