The first trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash has finally been released—via SFFGazette.com—after playing exclusively in theaters before The Fantastic Four: First Steps this past weekend. You may recall that it also leaked online earlier this month, though Disney acted quickly to take it down.
Providing a long-awaited glimpse at Avatar: Fire and Ash's eye-popping visuals, new clans, and stunning new creatures, this sneak peek doesn't reveal too much about the story. Even so, for fans of Pandora, what's shown should be more than enough to convince them to buy a ticket in time for this holiday season.
With Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron takes audiences back to Pandora in an immersive new adventure with Marine turned Na’vi leader Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Na’vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the Sully family.
"Everybody in this movie is reacting from a place of trauma," Cameron told Empire Online in a recent interview. "Everybody. Jake’s processing the death of his son. [Jake and Neytiri’s other son] Lo’ak is processing the death of his brother and his own guilt around that."
Elaborating on that point, Worthington said, "The peacemaker that Jake was in 2 has changed, because he’s grieving. He doesn’t know how to go forward, and so he goes back to the world that he knows, which is soldiering. To attack, to go to war, that’s a comforting place for Jake."
"Because of Neteyam’s death, there is now a division in that relationship," the actor continued, referring to Jake and Neytiri. "That’s a great design by Jim — how do you split apart the perfect love story? Jake and Neytiri share this painful wound, but they can’t seem to heal each other."
"So they kind of split, not because they want to, but because they’re just trying to survive within themselves. Jake heads back to battle and Neytiri kind of closes down."
Avatar: Fire and Ash was shot back-to-back with 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water. Cameron originally intended for them to be one movie, but soon realised there was too much material and expanded the story across parts two and three (a fourth instalment is also in the works and set for release in 2029).
The film, which has a screenplay by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and a story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno, also stars Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, and Kate Winslet.
The third instalment in the phenomenally successful Avatar franchise opens exclusively in theaters worldwide in IMAX 3D, Dolby Cinema 3D, RealD 3D, Cinemark XD, 4DX, ScreenX, and premium screens everywhere on December 19, later this year.