Warning: SPOILERS for Avatar: The Way of Water are in play. If you haven’t seen the film yet, consider this your warning.
After Avatar: The Way of Water’s continued dominance in last weekend’s box-office results, any and all questions about James Cameron’s franchise becoming a hit can be officially laid to rest. Fans of the Sully family saga can certainly celebrate that news, as that performance has allowed Cameron himself to state that Avatar 4 and 5 are now allowed to move forward.
The bad news is you probably won't see the next Avatar movie wind up on the roster of 2023 new movie releases, unless Disney somehow read our feature about why that's a good idea. In the way of good news, that gives us all plenty of time to think about the long game.
We’ve already started looking forward to the future of Avatar here at CinemaBlend, as we previously ran a feature digging into where things could go thanks to hints from the potential Avatar sequel titles. Going one step further with that knowledge, there’s a potential story that starts to form: it looks like each Sully child just might have their time to shine in each of the four initially-planned sequels.
It’s all spoilers from this point on as we take a look at what James Cameron’s potential endgame might be for the franchise. However, we're going to start with some less spoilery details, which explain the specific function of these upcoming films.
How James Cameron Sees The Avatar Sequels
Before we dive too deep into these waters, it’s important to nail down how James Cameron looks at the Avatar sequels. There’s a very specific story function that these movies serve, which Cameron clarified during his recent appearance on CNN/HBO Max’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace. This is the roadmap that the co-writer/director sees in play:
I think we’ve begun a franchise at this point. I don’t think the first film started a franchise, because we were kind of out of the marketplace for too long. But I think we can safely say that we’ve begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films, which was our original goal.
This information is important, as it means 2009’s Avatar is the foundation to what comes next. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytyri (Zoe Saldaña) begin their story together in that movie, which serves as the base where the sequel stories develop from. Much like the parent/child relationship, Avatar: The Way of Water and its sequel siblings take the story that this romantic pairing began, and run with it.
It also just so happens that, excluding the early plans for Avatar 6 and 7, the number of sequels on deck happen to match up with the number of children in the Sully family. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence either, as starting with The Way of Water, the focus on certain members of the family already seems in place.
The Way of Water Is Neteyam’s Movie
While we do see the entire Sully family get in on the action of Avatar: The Way of Water, it’s Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) that ties in deepest to the movie’s title and message. It’s his character who gets the big speech about the Way of Water from Tsireya (Bailey Bass), and in addition to trying to help teach those values, Avatar 2 begins and ends with reflection on his life.
Avatar: The Way of Water may have shown us Neteyam’s death, but as he’s returned to Eywa by sending his body to the ocean floor, we see Jake and Neytyri interact with him through connecting to her essence. Water has no end or beginning, connecting life and death in the Na’vi world; so we should naturally expect the eldest Sully son to continue to interact with his family as they connect to Eywa.
Everything that happens next will be with the memory of Neteyam in mind. As such, the surviving Sully kids seem to be primed to take on special positions in protecting Pandora, and potentially work towards lasting peace between humanity and the Na’vi.
Tukitrey Might Be The Seed Bearer
Moving onto the first Avatar sequel with an unconfirmed title, The Seed Bearer title already carries some interesting significance. In terms of the complications ahead, James Cameron has gone on record as stating that our first “evil Na’vi” will be appearing in the form of who he calls the “Ash People.”
Naturally, fire is going to be a problem, and forests kind of don’t react well to fire; as we’ve previously seen in the Avatar series. Enter the scrappy Tuktirey (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), who, while she may still be small, could grow into something great. If Avatar: The Seed Bearer is any indication of where things are going, the forests of Pandora are going to be a major concern yet again.
Perhaps the greatest hint that could be staring us in the face when it comes to Tuk’s fate is her woven top. As noted in Avatar: The Way of Water - The Visual Dictionary, her top is shaped in what’s described as, “[a] pattern inspired by the energy that flows through trees.” Should this theory be true, the youngest Sully child is the key to any potential restoration of the devastation to Pandora’s plant-life.
The Tulkun Rider Is Obviously Lo’ak
The first of the family to bond with the Tulkun, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) rebelled and formed a connection with a mighty creature of great power. His friendship with Payakan, the outcast Tulkun who believes in fighting the RDA, made him a key player in the aquatic battle waged against the Sea Dragon in Avatar: The Way of Water.
That friendship is primed to be the center of the hypothetically-named Avatar: The Tulkun Rider; a.k.a. the “holy fuck” movie in the saga. Round four of Avatar could see Lo’ak continue to bond with Payakan, as the two wreck shit up with the RDA and whatever villains we’ll potentially see in the next films.
Just as Jake was the “Rider of the Last Shadow,” Lo’ak could be the Tulkun Rider - a new symbol of hope for the Na’vi’s survival. Though it’ll probably translate into something cool sounding in the Pandoran native language, as “Toruk Makto” sounds way cooler than its english equivalent.
Kiri Will Probably Lead The Quest for Eywa
Potentially bringing the story full circle, Avatar 5 is the last of the currently written and planned installments James Cameron has on the books. It might be one hell of a closer too, as the fallout of its impressive sounding predecessor could get pretty mythic. No wonder the potential title is Avatar: The Quest for Eywa, and there’s no better Sully kid to focus that story on than the adopted Kiri (Sigourney Weaver).
Kiri clearly has the strongest connection to Eywa, and may have even been immaculately conceived by the planet within the dormant Na’vi avatar of Dr. Grace Augustine. Her connection to the planetmind would definitely suggest that, in addition to Kiri’s burgeoning powers of controlling some forms of life once hooked in.
All signs point to Kiri being a sort of prophet/emissary for Pandora, who could extend the ultimate olive branch between our species. Potentially overthrowing the RDA once and for all, there's a specific path that this daughter of The People could be leading us all down.
The Potential Endgame Of The Avatar Series
Producer Jon Landau has hinted through an interview with Gizmodo that there’s a desire to bring Neytyri to Earth in Avatar 5. Based on what we’ve seen about each sequel above, Kiri and the entire Sully family look to have formed a coalition of abilities and disciplines that could put humanity’s dying homeland back on track. Acting as the best of both parents, diplomacy and warrior spirit are both on the table.
Looking at James Cameron’s presented politics in the Avatar films, he’s not looking to resolve his ecological parable with one massive bug hunt. The lessons of caring for one’s world and being in harmony with The People don’t suggest a massive war waged against Earth. Rather, the species we once treated as an easily exploited resource might wind up being humanity’s greatest salvation.
While these titles are supposedly the incorrect names to the remaining sequels planned for Avatar, even as rough drafts they tell a story. How accurate this rundown is in predicting that tale is yet to be seen, as the current release schedule sees a new chapter premiering every other year, right up to Avatar 5’s slated December 22, 2028 debut. As The Way of Water is currently flowing in theaters only, your only streaming bet is to catch Jake Sully’s previous adventure, which is available now through a Disney+ subscription.
