The third film in the Avatar saga is set to release on December 19, 2025. As the director James Cameron has stated at the premiere, this film decides whether or not the Avatar saga continues after the third film. Avatar and Avatar 2: The Way of Water were both gigantic hits, as the original 2009 Avatar holds the title for being the highest grossing movie ever, earning almost 3 billion dollars.Â
Avatar: Fire and Ash continues to follow the Sully family through their adventures as they combat the Ash people, fellow inhabitants of Pandora and the brand new antagonists of the film. We have seen the Sully family battle with Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in both Avatar and Avatar 2: The Way of Water, so viewers are especially excited to see how his battle with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is interwoven into the new plotline with the Ash people. In addition, The Way of Water concluded with the Sully family being accepted into the Metkayina (ocean) clan, so fans are wondering how they will return to the Omaticaya (forest) people, as Fire and Ash has released footage of the family back in their home forest.Â
James Cameron himself has stated that the possibility of making Avatar 4 and 5 depend on how well Fire and Ash performs in the theaters. This is because the movies cost an immense amount of money to produce due to all of the special effects that the movies require to bring to life. Therefore, there is a large amount of pressure on how well Fire and Ash performs in the theaters, specifically during the first two weeks of release. A few years ago, Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5 were announced to follow the success of the original 2009 film, but many worry that Fire and Ash will not be able to live up to its predecessors and jeopardize the possibility of Avatar 4 and 5 being made in the future.
I, for one, am an absolute Avatar superfan. In my personal opinion, I believe that the worldbuilding and creativity that the Avatar saga presents is unmatched by any other series that is being created these days. However, aesthetic landscapes, intriguing animals of Pandora, and an incredible soundtrack are not the only reasons you should watch these movies. The 2009 Avatar addresses themes of self exploration and identity, environmentalism, and found family while Avatar 2: The Way of Water dives deeper and expands upon these themes, as Jake and Neytiri’s (Zoe Saldana) children showcase their individual battles with loneliness, finding one’s voice, feeling alienated from others, and the struggle to find one’s place in such a large world. In a larger sense, the movies address themes of colonialism, the danger that war brings to communities, and greed. The Avatar movies are not created to be seen once – as you rewatch them over and over, you notice new details that flew under the radar on previous watches.
If you have not yet experienced the world that James Cameron has built, I urge you to watch the first two movies as soon as you can and buy tickets to Fire and Ash so that you can experience the new movie along with longtime fans.