Since the very beginning (and even before the release of the first film), James Cameron has maintained his eager insistence that Avatar would be a sprawling franchise beyond the wildest imaginations of its audience. Now, after The Way of Water handily crushed 10 years of stubborn claims that the original film lacked cultural relevance, both Cameron and audiences are looking forward to Pandora’s future, with three sequels already planned for the future.
The first of these, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is set to continue the story of Jake Sully’s newfound community with the aquatic Metakayina clan, as well as once again expanding the world and the cultural dimensions of the Na’vi. In a world as boundlessly creative as this one, there’s no telling where Cameron’s imagination could take our characters next. But luckily for fans, there is some tantalizing information out there about our next collective vacation to Pandora.
Is Avatar: Fire And Ash Coming Out?
Yes! After The Way of Water shattered box office records to the tune of $2 billion, Cameron confirmed in January of 2023 that the films were officially greenlit, gleefully mentioning that the massive financial success ensures that he “won’t be able to wiggle out of this.”
Both The Way of Water and Avatar 3 began filming concurrently in 2017, and after a short hiatus, both films wrapped principal photography in December 2020. The subtitle of the third film was revealed as Fire and Ash four years later, in August 2024, and as of right now the movie is currently still in post-production.
When Is The Avatar: Fire And Ash Release Date?
If everything goes according to plan and there are no last-minute delays, Avatar: Fire and Ash is set to release on December 19, 2025, almost 3 years to the day since the release of Avatar: The Way of Water.
What Is The Plot of Avatar: Fire And Ash?
While the concrete narrative thrust of the movie has yet to be revealed (and probably won’t be, knowing how precocious Cameron is about this franchise), the filmmaker has been forthcoming about certain details and worldbuilding elements. For starters, the most discussed aspect of the upcoming sequel is the addition of not just one, but two new Na’vi clans: the Tlalim Clan (aka the Windtraders), a group of nomadic traders, as well as the Mangkwan Clan (Ash People), a savage group of outcast Na’vi whose entire culture revolves around the volatile and destructive properties of fire after an undisclosed cataclysm involving a volcano.
For the first time in the franchise it seems as if a major part of the conflict will be Na’vi vs. Na’vi, as Cameron confirmed that we will see Jake Sully’s family and the Metakayina Clan go to battle with the Ash People. Of course that’s not the only battle they’ll be fighting however, as it’s also been revealed that the human military will return, once again under the command of the villainous and hyper-capitalist Resources Development Administration.
Considering the white-knuckled, emotional pipe-bomb that is the climax of The Way of Water, there are also a lot of disparate plot threads that will be followed up (especially considering the second and third films were originally one screenplay). Cameron has hinted at a few of these, including the inner turmoil felt by the Na’vi’s young human ally Spider regarding Quaritch being his father, as well as the grief felt by the Sully family after the loss of their eldest son. In fact, the recent CinemaCon footage all but confirms this last point, with a brief glimpse of Neytiri sinking deeper into the throes of her grief and rage, a very interesting parallel considering that the leader of the savage Mangkwan Clan will be a matriarch by the name of Varang.
A very small but interesting bit of information is the fact that for the first time in the series, Lo’ak will replace his father as the film’s narrator. This, of course, means little on its own, but according to Jack Champion (the actor playing Spider), this third installment “takes a hard left turn” akin to “a wrecking ball,” which has left some fans wondering if Fire and Ash could end with Jake Sully dying, fully passing the focus of the series onto his kids, a direction that it kind of seems like The Way of Water already laid the groundwork for.
Who Is In The Cast Of Avatar: Fire And Ash?
The ensemble of Fire and Ash is shaping up to be absolutely massive, with a mix of returning characters from the first two installments as well as new A-list actors joining the cast to play some new, crucial characters.
- Sam Worthington as Jake Sully. A former human soldier who traded his human body for a permanent Na’vi one in the first film, now a father of four and a well-respected warrior prepared to fight to protect his new community, the Metakayina.
- Zoe Saldana as Neytiri. Jake’s wife and formerly next in line to take over as spiritual leader of the Omatikaya Clan, Neytiri joined her husband in becoming a part of the Metakayina Clan and now live amongst them as they wage battle on the humans trying to subjugate Pandora.
- Sigourney Weaver as Kiri. The biological daughter of Dr. Grace Augustine’s Avatar, adopted by Jake and Neytiri. She has a curious spiritual connection to the larger natural forces governing Pandora that might have something to do with her parentage.
- Britain Dalton as Lo’ak. Jake and Neytiri’s second-born son, headstrong and stubborn, as well as the narrator of the film.
- Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuktirey. Jake and Neytiri’s youngest child and only biological daughter.
- Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch. Originally a military commander for the RDA who was slain in battle by Neytiri, Quaritch was resurrected as the leader of an elite squadron of human-piloted Avatars. He’s also Spider’s father and the relationship between the two of them is strained and distant due to their differing allegiances.
- Jack Champion as Spider. The human son of Miles Quaritch, adopted by Jake and Neytiri. There’s a budding potential romance happening between Spider and Kiri but that might be at risk due to Neytiri’s lingering resentment towards him due to his parentage.
- Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge. The former head of the RDA mining operation on Pandora, disgraced and abandoned after the failure of the siege at the end of the first film.
- Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore. Quaritch’s replacement as head of the military division of the RDA, and perhaps even more brutal in her methods.
- Cliff Curtis as Tonowari. The tribal chieftain of the Metakayina Clan and a growing friend to Jake Sully.
- Kate Winslet as Ronal. Tonowari’s wife and a respected free-rider within the Metakayina, as well as the mother of Tsireya.
- David Thewlis as Peylak. A new character making their debut in Fire and Ash, Peylak is the tribal leader of the Windtrader people and presumably a new ally to the Sully family.
- Oona Chaplin as Varang. Another new character, Varang is the savage, resilient leader of the Ash Clan. Cameron described her as someone who will “do anything” for her people, even “things that we would consider to be evil.” The Ash People are described as having experienced a great hardship, presumably related to the volcanic eruption hinted at in the statements Cameron has made, making Varang a survivor herself.
Is There A Trailer For Avatar: Fire And Ash?
There is not currently a trailer for Fire and Ash, but with a release date set for later this year, it’s a fair assumption that we’ll probably get the first attached to a major release in the coming few months.
How Many Avatar Movies Will There Be In Total?
As of right now, depending on whether or not Fire and Ash is successful, there are at least two more Avatar movies on the way, with Avatar 4 having already started principal photography (completion being contingent on the performance of the third installment). Of course, there’s no guarantee that Cameron will stop there, considering the first film was originally planned to have only two sequels, and now there are four.
It’s hard to predict just where Cameron will take his beloved Na’vi next but what’s obvious is that he has a deep love for the franchise and plans to see it through for as long as physically possible. As of right now there’s one sequel on the way this year and at least two more coming in the future, but if Hollywood has learned anything over the last 40 years its to never bet against James Cameron – if he announces Avatar 6 and 7 tomorrow, the likelihood is that there will always be an audience ready for any excuse to revisit Pandora.
