If there’s one thing you should take away from Avatar: The Way of Water‘s box office success it’s that the franchise isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, on top of the already filmed Avatar 3, James Cameron has confirmed plans for a 4th and 5th film.
While it’s unclear where the latter two entries will take fans, in a recent interview with Empire Magazine producer Jon Landau revealed some brand new details about each project to give fans a better idea of the franchise’s roadmap.
Following up on Cameron’s previous comments about the antagonist Na’vi tribe set to make its debut in part three, Landau revealed the group is called the “Ash People.” He described them as “an agressive, volcanic race” of aliens who will be led by a character named Varang. Oona Chaplin, who notably played Robb Stark’s wife in Game of Thrones (and who is also the granddaughter of icon Charlie Chaplin), will provide the motion capture and voice for the character. As Deadline points out, this is the first time Chaplin’s role in the films has been confirmed.
READ: Five Burning Questions Left Unanswered By ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’
Landau added that the same way there are good humans and bad humans, there are also good and bad Na’vi. He hints that the film will explore how and why some people may not see themselves as bad. “What is the root cause of how they evolve into what we perceive as bad?” he asked. “Maybe there are other factors there that we aren’t aware of.”
Landau also revealed that there would be a “big time jump” between the events of Avatar 3 and Avatar 4. He also stated that Avatar 4 would lead directly into Avatar 5, which will be partially set on Earth. He promises that the change of scenery in the fifth instalment isn’t due to a lack of creativity, but rather “to open people’s eyes [and] open Neytiri’s eyes to what exists on Earth.”
Lastly, Landa teased what the Earth might look like when they finally make the leap off of Pandora. He explains that the planet will clearly be dying, which is why the government came to Pandora in the first place. He promises that that the future isn’t entirely bleak for Earth in the franchise. Harkening back to the message behind the first two films, he says Avatar is “about the idea that we can change course.”
Avatar: The Way of Water is still only available to view in theaters. We expect an announcement about streaming to be made in the coming weeks.
