Summary
- Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in the franchise, explores the Ash People & offers a darker, emotionally intense storyline.
- Fans can expect a deeper dive into Tulkun culture with the introduction of new characters like Ta’nok in the upcoming movie.
- Potential threats from colonizers or the Ash People hint at a continued struggle for Jake Sully and his family in Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Avatar: Fire and Ash came out of CinemaCon as one of the biggest winners, generating buzz among lucky attendees. Now, fans who didn’t get such a chance have a new still — rich with visual clues and narrative hints — to feast their eyes on.
Avatar Fire and Ash will be the third installment in James Cameron’s very successful Avatar franchise, after 2009’s Avatar and 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water. The first two installments earned a combined $5 billion, making them two of the three highest-grossing movies ever. As is customary for Cameron films, the latest Avatar installment is expected to have a longer runtime as it introduces audiences to yet another one of Pandora’s inhabitants, the Ash people, who unleash their fire attacks in battle against the Na’vi. Equally promised in Avatar: Fire and Ash is a darker, more emotionally intense pathos. Notable returns include Sigourney Weaver’s Doctor Grace Augustine.
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Payakan And The Tulkun World Will Play A Huge Pivotal In Avatar: Fire and Ash
Tulkun Culture Will Be Explored In The Film
While the CinemaCon attendees were treated to exclusive footage yet to debut in the public sphere, the general audience can make do with a new still courtesy of Empire Magazine. The image shows Jake Sully’s second born, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), surfing on his Tulkun, Payakan –the same from the previous movie, Avatar: The Way of Water. According to VFX supervisor and executive producer Richard Baneham, Payakan’s inclusion would be “at the very highest level.” Baneham also revealed to Empire the exciting introduction of Payakan’s female Tulkun friend and co-outcast, Ta’nok. There are also clan Matriarch and Patriarch, the former of whom would be adorned with rings and tattoos “to suggest [history] beyond what we’re seeing.” So, not only would there be more of the whale-like Tulkuns, but Avatar: Fire and Ash would offer fans a general dive into Tulkun culture and society.
Avatar: Fire and Ash’s first look and Baneham’s words reinforce James Cameron’s earlier remarks of the movie potentially being “one of the most emotional and maybe the best of the three so far.” Lo’ak’s relationship with the lone Tulkun, Payakan, turned out to be among the main sources of Avatar: The Way of Water’s emotional weight. It’s also in line with Cameron’s comments about both movies being closely related ideologically.
We cannot defeat an enemy that comes from the stars.
The world of Pandora has become a darling in both box office records and the Best Visual Effects category at the Academy Awards, and fans should reasonably expect the third movie to carry on the legacy. However, Ne Zha 2’s $2.1 billion gross is good cause for worry to anyone who doesn’t wish to see Avatar: Fire and Ash become the first Avatar film not to top the year-end box office. Although there is no way of knowing if Stephen Lang’s Colonel Miles Quaritch and his crew are at it again with their relentless revenge hunt for Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully and his family, an ominous line from the exclusive CinemaCon footage, “We cannot defeat an enemy that comes from the stars,” heavily hints at the continued threat of colonizers in Avatar: Fire and Ash…or it might just be the Ash people, as the concept art photo of the clan back in January suggested.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is due in theaters on December 19.
Source: Empire Magazine