James Cameron has revealed his main “hope” for Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in the blockbuster franchise.
The filmmaker, who recently shared the first verdicts on the film, is hard at work on the third Avatar film, which will be released in December, and on Thursday (3 April), released a first look at CinemaCon.
While the footage is not available to watch online, cinema exhibitors gathered in Las Vegas for the annual event were given 3D glasses to watch the clip, which has been described as “dazzling”.
Variety reported that the footage introduced two new Na’vi clans. First up, were the Wind Traders, who soar in the sky using hot air balloons, and their enemies, the Fire People.
In the clip, the warring clans prepare for battle, with one Na’vi shown to be shot with a flaming arrow.
Speaking on a video provided for the panel, Cameron said that the main characters are “put through the wringer” in the new film, with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) telling Neytiri (Zoe Saldana): “ “We cannot live like this – we cannot live with this hate.”
Cameron also said that he “hopes this film can provide a shot in the arm for theatre owners, as we’re still struggling after the one-two punch of the pandemic and streaming”.
Cinema attendance has been down in recent years, but has been assisted in a big way by Cameron’s previous Avatar film, Avatar: The Way of Water, which is the third highest-grossing film of all time behind Cameron’s very own Avatar and Avengers: Endgame.
Other blockbusters to have pulled the box office out of the slump include Barbie and Oppenheimer, which were released on the same day in 2023, and 2024’s Dune: Part 2.
All eyes will be on Fire and Ash’s box office numbers when it’s finally released on 19 December.
Cameron previously revealed what fans could expect from the new sequel, explaining that it will explore “different cultures from those I have already shown”.
In the first and second parts of the franchise, viewers were introduced to two different Na’vi clans, the Omaticaya and the Metkayina.
In both Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, the Omaticaya and the Metkayina clans are peaceful tribes and only retaliate when their land is threatened by humans.
However, Cameron has revealed that the next film will see the fiery side of these tribes, which “will be represented by the ‘Ash People’”.
He told France’s 20 Minutes: “I want to show the Na’vi from another angle because, so far, I have only shown their good sides.”
“In the early films, there are very negative human examples and very positive Na’vi examples.“ In Avatar 3, we will do the opposite. We will also explore new worlds, while continuing the story of the main characters.
“I can say that the last parts will be the best. The others were an introduction, a way to set the table before serving the meal.”
There will be two more Avatar films after Fire and Ash, and they will be released in December 2029 and December 2031, respectively.
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