Avatar: Fire and Ash has finally been released in theaters, and as expected, the third film of James Cameron's franchise is as stunning as the previous two. The latest film is the continuation (and conclusion) of what we saw in Avatar: The Way of Water.
Fire and Ash not only keeps the Metkayina Na'vi clan in the spotlight, but it also introduces us to the Mangkwan Clan, the Ash people. Colonel Miles Quaritch already caused enough trouble for Jake Sully in The Way of Water, and now there's the Mangkwan Clan throwing their hatred into the mix. Anyway, Jake Sully puts up a great fight against Quaritch and the Mangkwan Clan in Avatar: Fire and Ash. The incredible and action-heavy final sequence of the third movie concludes what The Way of Water started. But it leaves fans wondering what Cameron has in mind for Avatar 4 in terms of storyline.
James Cameron’s Latest Comments Provide A Worrying Outlook For Avatar: Fire And Ash
James Cameron has given his thoughts on major box office movies, and how that may impact Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Avatar: Fire and Ash Keeps Colonel Quaritch's Fate Ambiguous
Yeah, It Means That Quaritch Might Very Well Return In Avatar 4
From the very beginning, Quaritch has been thinking of himself as a predator. Even after returning to life in a Na'vi body, Qauritch has been mostly the same. He is still driven by his hate for Na'vi and Jake Sully, but one thing has changed: Quaritch has a son now, Spider. Thanks to Spider, we saw a bit of humanity within Quaritch in Fire and Ash. The love for his son even makes Quaritch team up with Jake Sully, but that doesn't last for long.
To make things easier for the military, Quaritch joins hands with the Mangkwan Clan. He offers weapons to the Mangkwan Clan in return for their help against Jake Sully and the Metkayina clan. Even though he takes pride in being a Marine, he completely becomes one of the Ash people by the end of the movie. The Mangkwan leader, Varang, has a significant influence on Quaritch because they both start dating. Of course, even Sully suggested that Quaritch see what the Na'vi people are all about, but Sully meant the good and beautiful side, not the dark and bloodthirsty side of the Na'vi.
Sully, how’s it feel to betray your own race? You think you’re one of them? Time to wake up. - Quaritch
In the final sequence, Quaritch doesn't fight Sully as a human; in fact, he fights Sully as one of the Ash people. Sully comes incredibly close to killing Qauritch in the final sequence of Fire and Ash, but they had to stop fighting to save Spider, who was about to fall to his death. After saving Spider, both Sully and Quaritch sort of let go of their hatred for each other. Sully's family also arrives on the scene at this point, and instead of being all friendly with people he tried to kill, Quaritch jumps off the floating island. Sure, the scene implies that Quaritch dies from a fall, but hey, we don't see him dead. And let's not forget that the ocean is floating over the ocean, so Quaritch might have actually survived the fall.
The unclear ending for Quaritch means that Cameron is saving the character for Avatar 4. At one point, Quaritch was actually thinking about experiencing the Na'vi way. And if you think about it, Quaritch going through a redemption arc and connecting with Eywa seems like a good plot for Avatar 4.
There's Still So Much We Don't Know About Eywa
Avatar 4 Might Explore The Connection Between Kiri And Eywa
We know that Eywa is the All-Mother of Pandora. She is the collective consciousness of everything that's alive on this Pandora. In the first movie, we saw Eywa using the flora and fauna on Pandora to defeat Quaritch and his men. The third movie's ending was no different. Of course, Jake Sully united all the Na'vi clans by once again riding Toruk. On top of that, the massive Tulkuns also changed their ways and decided to fight against the military. However, that wasn't enough to save them from the firepower of the military. And then Kiri decided to reach out to Eywa one last time, and with the help of Spider and Tuk, she was able to convince Eywa to save her people.
We know what Eywa can do, but what we still don't know is why she was shutting out Kiri. Kiri wanted to connect with Eywa, but she has a seizure every time she tries. Fire and Ash confirms that Kiri doesn't have a father, which means Eywa essentially gave Kiri life out of nothing. Everyone who knows this thinks that Kiri is Eywa's child, but if that's the case, why did Eywa shut out Kiri for so long? Also, how exactly did Kiri command the fauna in the forest to save Spider? The fact that these questions remain unanswered proves that there's much more to Eywa that we don't know. There's still a lot of mystery to Eywa and Kiri, and Cameron might explore this story arc and answer these questions in Avatar 4.
Speaking of Eywa and Pandora, the final shot of Fire and Ash shows us Pandora from space. The broader view of Pandora perfectly reflects what Sully said to Quaritch in the film, that there's so much about Na'vi that we don't know. Interestingly, Sully's words and the final shot from space might be hinting towards more Na'vi clans and other areas that Cameron wants to explore in Avatar 4 and further movies.
Of course, the ending o f Avatar: Fire and Ash sort of sets up the storyline for Quaritch and Kiri, but Avatar 4 needs to be much more than that. It will likely explore a completely different Pandora, like how we completely shifted from forest to ocean in The Way of Water. It means Cameron will have to deliver completely new species and environments to make the fourth part unique from what we've seen so far. So, it's no wonder Avatar 4 is slated to release on December 21, 2029, almost four years after Fire and Ash's release.
- Release Date
- December 19, 2025
- Runtime
- 197 Minutes
- Director
- James Cameron
Cast
-
Sam WorthingtonJake Sully -
Zoe SaldanaNeytiri -
Sigourney WeaverKiri -
Stephen LangColonel Miles Quaritch
- Writers
- Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa, James Cameron, Josh Friedman, Shane Salerno
- Producers
- Jon Landau, James Cameron
- Prequel(s)
- Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water
- Franchise(s)
- Avatar
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Studio(s)
- 20th Century
- Distributor(s)
- 20th Century
- Executive Producer(s)
- David Valdes, Peter M. Tobyansen, Rae Sanchini, Richard Baneham
