20th Century Studios will be returning to Pandora for a third time withAvatar: Fire and Ash,the highly anticipated threequel in theAvatarfranchise. The film won’t hit theaters foranother 11 months, and very few details have been released. However, directorJames Cameronhas shed a bit of light on the film in an interview withEmpire magazine, describing the filming process forFire and Ashand how it will differ from the prior installments.
“We’ve got some really clever action set-pieces,” Cameron told Empire. “You can get your blood up in this movie. But what excites me as an artist who recently turned 70 and has kind of done all that stuff is not only the opportunity to get to do it again, but to get to a level of character and intrigue you haven’t seen before in anAvatarmovie.” Cameron also said the filmwould take audiencesto “places they won’t expect, but that will feel earned.” He additionally spoke about the physical elements of making the film:
“It’s in strong shape, I think. We’ve doubled the number of shots finished at this stage of the game than we had on movie two [and] the films are about equal length. So that puts us well ahead of the curve, which is something I’ve never, frankly, experienced before. [The process is] a little bit less nightmarish. We’re getting to the point where we’re actually getting good at this."
‘Fire and Ash’ Introduces a New Clan
While the second film,Avatar: The Way of Water,introduced aseafaring tribe of Na’vi,Fire and Ashwill thurst audiences into the story of a new, fire-centered Na’vi tribe led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Varang, as the leader of the Ash Clan, crosses paths during the film withJake Sully (Sam Worthington), a human-turned Na’vi who ended the last film transitioning to a life on the water with his mate Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver). All three will return forFire and Ash,alongside the villainous Quaritch (Stephen Lang), as well asKate Winslet, Edie Falco, GiovanniRibisi, CCH Pounder, David Thewlis,and more.
Cameron, who has at leasttwo moreAvatarsequels in the worksfor 2029 and 2031 releases, is directingFire and Ashfrom a screenplay he wrote withRick JaffaandAmanda Silver.The three additionally came up with the film’s story alongsideShane SalernoandJosh Friedman.Cameron is also producing the film for his Lightstorm Entertainment banner alongside thelateJonLandau.
Avatar: Fire and Ashhits theaters on Jul 30, 2025.Avatar: The Way of Wateris streaming now on Disney+.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third entry in James Cameron’s five-movie franchise set in the fictional world of Pandora.
