New ‘Avatar 3,’ ‘4’, and ‘5’ Details Revealed
Now that Avatar: The Way of Water has become the fourth highest-grossing movie ever made, it is time to turn our attention to what really matters: The further Avatar sequels that are now definitely coming thanks to The Way of Water’s rabid success. James Cameron had said that if The Way of Water bombed at the box office that could have put a crimp in his plans to make three more of these things over the next decade. Now it looks like he’ll be visiting Pandora for years to come.
His partner on these trips will be Jon Landau, Cameron’s longtime producer. And Landau gave Empire a few tidbits about what’s in store in Avatar 3, 4, and 5.
First and foremost, he noted that the key new character in Avatar 3 will be Varang, the leader of a new “volcanic race” of Na’vi, played by Oona Chaplin. Landau also revealed that while the Na’vi have largely been portrayed as the sympathetic victims of human greed in the first two films, Varang and her “Ash People” will not be seen in quite such a positive light, noting “there are good humans and there are bad humans ... it’s the same thing on the Na’vi side. Oftentimes, people don’t see themselves as bad. What is the root cause of how they evolve into what we perceive as bad?”
Landau also confirmed other previously teased details about the later sequels, noting that there will be a “time jump” between Avatar 3 and 4, and that Avatar 5 will finally show us what life is like on Earth in the series’ future. (Whatever is there, it ain’t gonna be pretty; The Way of Water revealed that the planet is basically dying and the humanity wants to colonize Pandora.)
Avatar 3 is currently scheduled to open in theaters on December 20, 2024.