Pandora burns, loyalties are tested - Avatar: Fire and Ash at Everyman this December

James Cameron returns to Pandora with Avatar: Fire and Ash, the epic third chapter in his visually stunning sci-fi saga. It lands at Everyman on 19 December 2025. This time, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the Sully family are drawn into grief, war, and moral complexity as a new threat looms over their home.

Set about a year after Avatar: The Way of Water, Fire and Ash finds the Sullys still reeling from loss while trying to keep peace with the Metkayina clan. But Pandora’s balance is upset when they encounter the Ash People (also known as the Mangkwan Clan), a fiery, volcanic-region Na’vi tribe that rejected old alliances.

Varang (played by Oona Chaplin) leads the Ash People. Their land, once ravaged by volcanic disaster, makes them hardened, aggrieved, and ready to challenge both the environment and other Na’vi clans. Their ideology raises major questions: what happens when survival demands extremes, and what compromises are made in the name of culture, vengeance, or protection?

Many familiar faces are back: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver (as Kiri), Kate Winslet (Ronal), Cliff Curtis (Tonowari), Britain Dalton (Lo’ak), Trinity Jo-Li Bliss (Tuk), Jack Champion (Spider), and a few others.

New to the mix are characters from the Ash People and the Wind Traders tribe. Among the newcomers, Oona Chaplin as Varang, and David Thewlis as chief Peylak of the Wind Traders, bring fresh faces and perspectives to Pandora’s conflicts.

Cameron once again blends spectacle with a quiet emotional core. Expect grander landscapes (volcanic terrain, ash-scapes, contrast with lush jungles and seas), aerial and sea-based action, and moments where nature itself is an adversary.

Themes tighten around grief, survival, identity, and what it means to protect or betray one’s roots. The Ash People challenge the idea that all Na’vi are unified against outside threats; here, internal fracture, differing belief systems, and the burden of loss shape choices. The inclusion of the Wind Traders adds a nomadic, high-skies dimension, offering visual contrast and new social dynamics.

Did you know?

James Cameron has said that creating the Avatar sequels was such a huge project that he split the three scripts among his writing team: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, and Shane Salerno.

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