James Cameron took us back to Pandora after 13 whole years with “Avatar: The Way of Water” and introduced us to a bunch of new characters, some old characters in new skin suits, and a water-based Na’vi culture. He and his team did a very comprehensive job of tackling themes of family, colonialism, and environmentalism while delivering an immersive action spectacle that puts every movie that has pretended to do something similar to shame. Cameron plans to spend the upcoming decade or so unraveling the mysteries of this exoplanetary moon, what the colonizing humans are going to do to it, and how the indigenous folk living there are going to defend their lands and oceans. So, let’s talk about “Avatar 3” (which has been tentatively titled “Avatar: The Seed Bearer”) and what we can expect from it based on what we’ve seen in the franchise’s latest installment.
Major Spoilers Ahead
At the time of writing this article, we know that Cameron has submitted the 9-hour-long assembly cut of “Avatar 3” to the studios. He apparently wants to do the CGI and VFX for all 9 hours of footage and then cut it down to its final version. That’s a roundabout way of saying that whatever Cameron has in mind for the sequel to “The Way of Water” is already in place and under wraps. Everything that I’m going to say in this article will be pure speculation.
Who Is Kiri’s Father?
As mentioned before, the tentative title of the third “Avatar” film is “The Seed Bearer,” and that sounds like a very obvious reference to Kiri’s mysterious father. After spending the majority of “The Way of Water” as the most empathetic and kind Na’vi ever, Kiri brought out the big guns in the third act by manipulating the flora and fauna of the oceans to defeat the Sky People and save Neytiri and Tuk. The first film hardly hinted at any such supernatural powers in the Na’vi characters or Dr. Augustine (Kiri’s mother). So, this revelation came as a surprise while also expanding the Na’vi’s connection to their environment. Spider and Lo’ak joked about Norm Spellman being Kiri’s father, and Norm did show up in a heartbeat to look after Kiri. Norm is someone who loves everything about Pandora. But I think that’s a very clear misdirection.
That said, if we switch off our heteronormative minds for one goddamn second, we can focus on the theory that Kiri might be a result of artificial insemination or a product of an experiment conducted by Dr. Augustine. She had a bunch of samples linked to Eywa. She could’ve been researching if Avatar bodies can give birth just like the Na’vi do. We’ve seen something similar in “Blade Runner 2049,” where its villain, Niander Wallace, was solely motivated by his need to make fertile Replicants (Android versions of human beings). So, there’s a good possibility that Augustine was trying to see whether these synthetic Na’vi bodies are capable of doing the things that a regular Na’vi can do. Therefore, the titular seed bearer can literally be Eywa herself. That’d explain Kiri’s powers and her heightened connection to everything in Pandora. Will it be a little hard for the audience to digest? I don’t think so.
How Will Lo’ak, Jake Sully, And Neytiri’s Dynamic Evolve?
Lo’ak spent the entirety of “The Way of the Water” as the underdog amongst the Sullys, who are constantly berated by Jake for his mistakes. At the very beginning of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” he almost gets his elder brother, Neteyam, killed. And in a chilling way, those opening moments were echoed in the film’s third act, as Lo’ak’s decision to save Spider got Neteyam killed, thereby turning him into an even bigger disappointment. Now, he did manage to redeem himself a bit by saving Jake, who had completely given up on himself after his deadly fight with Quaritch. They eventually hugged it out and everything. But I have a feeling that Neteyam’s death is going to loom heavily over the Sullys throughout the sequels. Jake might have realized that Lo’ak isn’t at fault. However, Lo’ak’s survivor’s guilt and Neytiri’s inability to forgive him may take him to some dark places. Maybe the rest of his family or his love interest, Tsireya, who has taught him about how the way of water can bring people from darkness into the light, will play a pivotal role in helping him out.
Is Spider Going To Join Quaritch?
Despite his allegiance to the Sullys, Spider did some very questionable things in “The Way of Water.” I think his switch flipped a little when he saw the shoulder-cam footage of Jake and Neytiri going after the real Quaritch. I am assuming that he had never seen that side of his stepparents and seeing them do a number on his biological father must’ve impacted him hugely. But that’s no excuse for him to actively help Quaritch and his goon squad commit so many war crimes. Now, during the third act of the film, Spider came this close to being butchered by Neytiri because Quaritch was holding Kiri hostage. When Quaritch released Kiri, Neytiri dropped Spider like a sack of potatoes, thereby hinting that she doesn’t really feel anything for her. That was probably the reason why he saved Quaritch from drowning and brought him to his ikran. However, he didn’t go all the way by flying away with Quaritch because he’s probably still conflicted about who he identifies with more, the Sullys or Quaritch. The following “Avatar” films are definitely going to delve into that and maybe even prop Spider as the villain of the franchise if Quaritch ends up biting the dust again. Yes, I don’t want Quaritch to have a redemption arc. I want him dead. Because I want to see whether Spider proves that Neytiri was right about him or if he shows her that her assumptions about him were totally wrong and his heart lies with the Na’vi.
Are We Going To See Some Adverse Uses Of “Amrita”?
“Avatar: The Way of Water” didn’t make it entirely clear whether or not the Sky People had completely given up on mining for unobtanium or if they were still doing it after landing in the forests and completely incinerating them. But Scoresby and Dr. Gavin did confirm that the “amrita,” the anti-aging serum extracted from Tulkuns, is the one thing that is funding the Resources Development Administration’s (RDA) projects. As far as I can remember, it’s being sold on Earth for 80 million dollars per vial. That said, as per General Ardmore, Earth has definitely gone down the gutter, which makes the need to make Pandora the home for humans their topmost priority. And since time is running out, they’ve got to speed up the process. Now, they’ve figured out the process to resurrect deceased soldiers as Recombinant Avatars. Those Avatar bodies do come with all the abilities of a Na’vi individual. However, that, along with all the arms and ammunition at the Sky People’s disposal, is clearly not enough to stop the Na’vi for good. So, what’s stopping them from tinkering with the “amrita” and turning themselves into something more lethal and impervious to death? I’m not saying it has to be perfect. The side effects of the experiment can and probably should turn them into real monsters, thereby matching their external image with who they are on the inside.
Expectations From ‘Avatar 4’ And ‘Avatar 5’
If you were thinking that James Cameron was going to make an “Avatar” trilogy and bring the Na’vi saga to a close, you were wrong. After “Avatar 3”, there are two more movies in the can that are tentatively titled “Avatar: The Tulkun Rider” and “Avatar: The Quest for Eywa.” Of course, the greenlighting of these films depends on the success of “The Way of Water” (which has already earned $435 million at the global box office) and “The Seed Bearer.” But it’s “Avatar” and James Cameron that we are talking about here, two things that we can count on to make a lot of money. Now, when it comes to what those films are going to entail, we don’t have a lot of information about it. So, we must speculate again. Going by Lo’ak’s bond with Payakan, I am guessing that the fourth film will be all about their brotherhood and maybe even see him become the leader of the Na’vi. As for the fifth film, both Cameron and producer Jon Landau have hinted that the narrative will shift to Earth. It’ll put the spotlight on Neytiri and urge her to see that the RDA doesn’t represent what the planet stands for. Additionally, she’ll be brought to the realization that not all humans are bad, and not all Na’vi are good. That said, these movies are not coming to your nearest theater any time soon. For now, you have “Avatar: The Way of Water” at your disposal. Therefore, go and watch it as many times as you can and appreciate Cameron and his team’s handiwork.
See More: ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ Ending, Explained: How Did Kiri And Lo’ak Emerge As The MVPs Of Avatar 2?
