5 Things James Cameron Wants You to Know About Avatar: Fire and Ash

For much from our Big Interview with James Cameron, cheque retired Part 1 wherever helium broke down a famous scene from Titanic and Part 2 wherever helium reveals his feelings connected AI successful filmmaking.

James Cameron already has 3 of the highest-grossing movies successful container bureau history, and aboriginal this twelvemonth he’s shooting for a fourth. Avatar: Fire and Ash, the writer/director’s hotly-anticipated sequel to 2009’s Avatar and 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, hits theaters December 19 and is definite to beryllium 1 of the year’s biggest movies.

Cameron sat down with IGN up of the October 3 theatrical re-release of Avatar: The Way of Water to dive (no pun intended) into what fans tin expect from the franchise’s newest entry.

Here are 5 things to cognize astir Avatar: Fire and Ash straight from the King of the Na’vi himself, James Cameron.

You don’t HAVE to re-watch The Way of Water up of Fire and Ash, but you astir apt should

Disney and 20th Century Studios are sending Avatar: The Way of Water backmost to theaters connected October 3rd truthful audiences volition person different changeable astatine seeing the movie, which grossed much than $2 cardinal astatine the container office, connected the biggest surface possible. Cameron says it’s a large theatrical re-watch for Avatar fans, but it shouldn’t beryllium seen arsenic “homework.”

“I would accidental conscionable spell for the ride,” Cameron says. “All the characters successful The Way of Water proceed connected into Fire and Ash. And past we get a fig of caller characters, 1 successful peculiar – Varang (Oona Chaplin) of the Ash clan – who's rather important. I don't deliberation you person to deliberation of it arsenic homework, right? You don't request to spot The Way of Water to bask Fire and Ash. It's its ain thing. But if you're a instrumentality and if you privation to get backmost into that caput abstraction and get backmost into pursuing those characters, I deliberation it's a large warm-up.”

The Sullys’ household bonds volition beryllium “torn apart” successful Fire and Ash

Avatar: The Way of Water saw main characters Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his woman Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) grieving aft the decease of their eldest son, Neteyam. Cameron says that nonaccomplishment volition propel overmuch of the enactment successful Fire and Ash.

“The events that hap to the Sully family, the mode successful which they interact, and the mode they enslaved unneurotic and enactment each different is simply a captious portion going guardant into the caller film,” helium says. “But each those bonds get challenged arsenic they get torn apart. Neytiri from Jake, Jake from his kids, the things that hap successful (The Way of Water) pass the science and the emotions of the characters successful (Fire and Ash).”

Cameron says that Neteyam’s decease successful Avatar: The Way of Water, portion difficult, was 1 of his favourite scenes from the movie.

Avatar: The Way of Water / Courtesy Disney and 20th Century Studios

“It was a country we each dreaded,” Cameron says. “We knew it was coming, everybody was prepared successful their minds. But Sam and Zoe arsenic parents, they were young and azygous erstwhile we did the archetypal Avatar, and they'd been done immoderate of the trials and tribulations of parenthood by the clip we got to the 2nd and 3rd films. It ever brings maine to the borderline of tears, adjacent though I've seen the movie a 1000 times. Zoe's conscionable heart-wrenching shriek juxtaposed successful the aforesaid infinitesimal with Jake's stoicism. He doesn't cognize however to grieve, helium doesn't cognize however to fto it out. He's already processing the concern successful a protective mode for the different characters.

“I'm ever arrogant of that scene. And it's not what radical deliberation of erstwhile they deliberation of an Avatar movie, but they should. When radical deliberation of an Avatar movie, they deliberation of it arsenic a benignant of sprawling subject fabrication epic with beauteous scenery and tons of enactment and adventure. They don't deliberation of it arsenic this heavy benignant of heartwrenching experience. And I similar to accidental that the films are astir dynamic range. There's quality and wonder, there's fear, chaos, action, and heartwrenching, affectional moments.”

Sigourney Weaver arsenic Kiri successful Avatar: The Way of Water / Courtesy Disney and 20th Century Studios

We’ll get answers astir Kiri’s origins successful Fire and Ash arsenic she becomes “much much cardinal to the outcome” of the story

In Avatar: The Way of Water, Jake and Neytiri’s adopted girl Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) is simply a quality whose mysterious origins aren’t afloat addressed. She was revealed to beryllium the biologic girl of Grace Augustine’s (played by Weaver successful the archetypal movie) Avatar, but her parentage is simply a enigma beyond that. Cameron says questions surrounding Kiri volition beryllium definitively answered successful Fire and Ash.

“Yes, yes, the reply is yes,” Cameron says. “I don't privation to archer you what that result is, but Kiri remains the lone question that's not answered (at the extremity of The Way of Water). She's the lone crippled constituent that remains unresolved. (In Fire and Ash) you get a batch of answers, but it deepens the mystery. So you'll get immoderate clues, you'll get immoderate legit answers, but her communicative is meant to beryllium a moving thread crossed the full saga. She becomes a overmuch much compelling quality successful (Fire and Ash), overmuch much cardinal to the outcome.”

Oona Chaplin arsenic Varang successful Avatar: Fire and Ash / Courtesy Disney and 20th Century Studios

Avatar: The Way of Water and Fire and Ash signifier a “complete story”

With Avatar: Fire and Ash eagerly anticipated by fans, audiences are already looking guardant to further Avatar sequels. But James Cameron says that, adjacent if nary aboriginal Avatar films are made, The Way of Water and Fire and Ash signifier their ain definitive story.

“I deliberation it's important to deliberation of (The Way of Water) and (Fire and Ash) arsenic a implicit communicative that afloat resolves. (They) signifier 1 implicit communicative arc,” helium says. “For me, these films are astir the acheronian and the airy that exists wrong us. It's not astir humans versus Na’vi. The Na’vi correspond our amended quality and the humans successful the communicative correspond our much venal and greedy and little empathetic nature. You spot that successful (The Way of Water), you'll spot it again successful (Fire and Ash).”

Avatar 4 and 5 are not guaranteed

After Avatar: Fire and Ash hits theaters aboriginal this year, fans volition person to hold a spot for further sequels. Avatar 4 is planned to merchandise successful 2029 with Avatar 5 pursuing successful 2031. But Cameron says those movies are acold from guaranteed and beryllium wholly connected the container bureau occurrence of Avatar: Fire and Ash.

“If we get to movie 4, if. I privation to stress that,” Cameron says. “It each depends connected whether we're palmy this time. It's ever conditional. So (Avatar) 4 and 5 are benignant of their ain story, and we'll marque those films unneurotic if we marque them.”

Avatar: The Way of Water / Courtesy Disney and 20th Century Studios

Bonus: James Cameron’s favourite changeable from Avatar: The Way of Water

With Avatar: The Way of Water heading backmost to cinemas, we asked Cameron if determination was 1 circumstantial infinitesimal from the movie that helium considers the “quintessential James Cameron shot.” He unsurprisingly picked a country that combined method wizardry with heavy quality emotion, diagnostic of galore of his films.

“There's a changeable that was projected successful the creation department,” Cameron says. “Just successful a beauteous coating of (Jake and Neytiri’s son) Lo’ak touching the fin of Payakan. And it forms this gorgeous, horizontally composed framework and CinemaScope facet ratio, and it's astir successful a mode symbolic of the movie and thematically for Avatar. It's similar a quality we subordinate to. He's not human, but helium looks quality successful silhouette, touching (this) mighty and majestic fig who successful a consciousness represents nature. And that's what the films are about. And I thought that synthesized and symbolized that movie perfectly.”

Michael Peyton is the Senior Editorial Director of Events & Entertainment astatine IGN, starring amusement contented and sum of tentpole events including IGN Live, San Diego Comic Con, gamescom, and IGN Fan Fest. He's spent 20 years moving successful the games and amusement industry, and his adventures person taken him everyplace from the Oscars to Japan to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Follow him connected Bluesky @MichaelPeyton