Avatar: Fire and Ash is opening this weekend, and plans are already in place for Avatar 4. Proposing a whopping five movies for a franchise is a huge gamble, but director James Cameron has the pull to make it work. His past Avatar movies have been major blockbusters, and the director intends to bring the remaining movies to life.
After audiences take in Avatar: Fire and Ash this weekend, they’ll likely be thirsty for what’s next. It’s too early to know the full story, but since James Cameron has already filmed some of the sequel, there are a few clues about what is in store. If you can’t wait to get back to Pandora, these are the juicy details for the next Avatar movie.
WARNING: This includes SPOILERS for Avatar: Fire and Ash
The Story for ‘Avatar 4’
Details are sparse on what Avatar 4 will entail, aside from the eight-year time skip Vanity Fair confirmed. James Cameron doesn’t want to talk too much about the fourth film, which is still filming. All of his efforts are focused on the success of Fire and Ash for now, as he explained to Deadline:
“I always use the metaphor that if a woman is in labor, at the moment she’s crowning, you don’t ask her about her next children.”
We can determine a few directions based on the events of Fire and Ash. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) will still be defending the water-based Metkayina clan after having fought alongside them for the second time. Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) may also continue his revenge against Jake, but with more backup in the form of Varang (Oona Chaplin) and her Mangkwan clan. While Miles wasn’t confirmed dead after his big fall in the climax, Fire and Ash did feature the return of one villain thought to be dead in The Way of Water. And given that Miles returned after his demise in the first film, an implied death doesn’t mean he’s gone for good.
The Kids Will Return For ‘Avatar 4’
The most intriguing developments for the next film will likely center around the growth of Jake’s children. Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) has become a more pivotal player in Pandora, as she can now connect directly with Pandora’s spirit. Her powers have grown so extensively that she used them to grant Miles’ human son, Spider, the ability to breathe the planet’s air. This development intrigues humans and Na’vi alike, which will likely become a bigger deal in the motivations of the sequel. Previously, Miles only wanted Spider raised as his own, but now there’s a vested interest in capturing and studying this human fused with Pandora’s environment. It’s a development so grand that Jake nearly takes Spider out of the equation.
To keep the sequels on track, James Cameron has been trying to film as much as possible. Realizing the kids will likely age up quickly, the director has chosen to film those scenes first, ensuring the kids won’t be too old by the time the sequel arrives for the proposed time jump, via Variety. It’s safe to say that Avatar 4 will feature the return of Jake’s children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), and Spider (Jack Champion).
There isn’t much more to divulge in terms of casting, as Cameron has been very tight-lipped about what the next film will truly be about. It’s safe to assume that Sam Worthington will be back again as Jake Sully, given his interview alongside Cameron for Deadline. Based on the introduction of a new clan for Fire and Ash, we may end up getting another Na’vi clan based around a different element of Pandora, leaving room for more actors to step into this CGI-built alien world.
Will ‘Avatar 4’ Even Happen?
James Cameron has remained committed to making his Avatar stories happen, and he’s had plenty of luck at the box office thus far. However, there’s always the possibility that Disney decides not to keep the series going if it performs poorly. While the first two Avatar films made a lot of money, they also got a lot to make, with Fire and Ash costing well over $400 million.
Cameron loves the Avatar saga that much that while he’s nervous about getting his sequels finished, he does want to finish the story. As he said on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast, via IGN, he’ll finish the last two entries in the form of novels if that’s his only choice. It does take James Cameron some time to make good on his promised projects, as with the production of Alita: Battle Angel, but he still keeps his sights on completion, considering Alita 2 is still on his to-do list.
A recent quote from Cameron has concerned fans, as he told THR, “I’ve got other stories to tell, and I’ve got other stories to tell within Avatar.” While many have taken this to mean that he’s done with Avatar, Cameron specifies shortly after that he’s not going to leave the franchise, but that he might open the process to more “collaboration,” allowing him to pursue other projects as Avatar films are being made. He still plans to direct, but may not be involved with every aspect of the post-production as he has been, allowing him to pursue other projects like his adaptation of The Devils.
When Will ‘Avatar 4’ Be Released?
Disney is aiming to release Avatar 4 in theaters on December 21st, 2029, as confirmed by producer Jon Landau via Deadline. That might seem like too many years off, especially with how short a wait between The Way of Water and Fire and Ash of only three years. But it won’t be as massive a wait as there was for The Way of Water, which took 13 years before audiences could return to Pandora.
Originally, Avatar 4 would’ve come out even earlier if not for the WGA strikes that shifted dates around at Disney. The initial release date for Avatar 4 was December 18, 2026, but strikes delayed the film bythree more years. Concurrently, this delay also pushed back the proposed fifth Avatar movie by 3 years, moving the release date from December 22, 2028, to December 19, 2031. It’s unlikely Disney will push this date for competition reasons, as Avatar films have historically done well in December, locking in the holiday audiencefor the must-see blockbuster at the end of the year. Of course, that will all depend on how well Fire and Ash performs this holiday season.
What we can be most certain of for Avatar 4 is that James Cameron will direct it. He will be writing the screenplay with Josh Friedman, who has helped with the story work for The Water of Water and Fire and Ash.
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