Avatar 3, AKA Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally arriving this year. It’s been a long time coming, with multiple delays pushing the threequel back years, but it’s now one of 2025’s most exciting upcoming movies.
Following on from Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, the third movie will reunite us with Jake, Neytiri, and the rest of their family – and introduce us to the mysterious Ash People. James Cameron once again returns to direct.
Below, we’ve broken down everything there is to know about Avatar 3, with details on the release date, what’s known about the plot so far, and the cast list. We’ve also got our best guess at when we might get a trailer, too.
So, to get up to speed on your return to Pandora, head to the below for the ultimate guide to Avatar 3.
Avatar 3 release date
The Avatar 3 release date is December 19, 2025. That’s three years after Avatar: The Way of Water, and 16 years after the first Avatar. The threequel has been delayed nine times total, pushed back 10 years from its original 2015 release date.
Avatar 3 trailer: when will we get one?
With the movie still almost a year away, we’re unlikely to get a trailer for Avatar 3 for some time yet. The first Way of Water teaser debuted in May 2022, so we can expect Avatar 3 to follow a similar timeline and drop a trailer sometime this spring.
Avatar 3 plot
So far, not much is known about the Avatar 3 plot just yet. The main thing we know is that we’re going to be introduced to the Ash People, AKA the Mangkwan Clan. They’re led by Varang, played by Oona Chaplin. “Varang is the leader of a people who have gone through an incredible hardship. She’s hardened by that,” director James Cameron told Empire magazine. “She will do anything for them, even things that we would consider to be evil.”
“One thing we wanted to do in this film is not be black-and-white simplistic,” he added. “We’re trying to evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm.”
He also teased that the movie will go to some unexpected places. “We’re just starting to riff on it and twist it and turn it,” he told Empire. “It’s a tricky thing. We could be getting high on our own supply here, and everybody who looks at it goes, ‘Fuck, that’s not what I signed up for.’ But if you’re not making brave choices, you’re wasting everybody’s time and money. That alone is not sufficient to create success, but it’s necessary. You’ve got to break the mold every fricking time.”
Avatar 3 cast
The Avatar 3 cast is a mix of returning actors and newcomers:
- Sam Worthington – Jake Sully
- Zoe Saldaña – Neytiri
- Sigourney Weaver – Kiri
- Britain Dalton – Lo’ak
- Trinity Jo-Li Bliss – Tuktirey
- Jack Champion – Spider
- Kate Winslet – Ronal
- Cliff Curtis – Tonowari
- Bailey Bass – Tsireya
- Filip Geljo – Ao’nung
- Duane Evans Jr. – Rotxo
- CCH Pounder – Mo’at
- David Thewlis – Peylak
- Oona Chaplin – Varang
- Joel David Moore – Dr. Norm Spellman
- Stephen Lang – Colonel Miles Quaritch
- Giovanni Ribisi – Parker Selfridge
- Edie Falco – General Frances Ardmore
- Brendan Cowell – Captain Mick Scoresby
- Jemaine Clement – Dr. Ian Garvin
- Dileep Rao – Dr. Max Patel
- Matt Gerald – Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
That’s a wrap on Avatar 3. For more, check out our guide to this year’s major upcoming movie release dates to fill out your watchlist.