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Bet the space farm that the ‘Avatar’ sequels will feature these 3 things
Where will James Cameron’s Pandora symphony go next? We’re (almost) certain that we know.
If you are a fan of Avatar, Eywa has heard you. Avatar: The Way of Water is a global hit, proving that there’s plenty of life in the franchise that James Cameron began in 2009. A third movie has already been shot, and Cameron plans to release two more movies after that, which seems likely given the success of The Way of Water.
If we're getting three more Avatar movies, then what can audiences expect to see? The storylines of the first two films are simple by design. Their messages are not subtle; themes of colonization and environmental destruction are deployed with a skyscraper-sized sledgehammer. Escalation is another factor, as The Way of Water ratchets up the stakes with no sign of bringing them down.
Because of those things, we’re going to go ahead and wager on three storylines that the next three movies could include. If you’ve seen both of the Avatar movies, then they probably won’t be surprising to you. We could be wrong about any of them, but we’re placing bets anyway. Our bookie loves big tentpole movies.
***WARNING: Spoilers lie ahead for Avatar: The Way of Water***
Na’vi in space
This is an easy one. According to Polygon, one installment of the Avatar saga that was scrapped by Cameron dealt with what happened during the time jump which occurs early on in The Way of Water. When the “sky people” return in multiple ships, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) would have led a Na’vi space assault.
The scene found its way into a comic based on this time period instead, but come on. The battle between nature and greed is going to go to space on the big screen. Those giant ships are going to keep coming, so why wouldn’t Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) hijack one of those triangle shuttles and take the fight right to the source? There are other humans on their side who can help in case they need it, and there’s always the chance that more could defect if they grow dissatisfied with the leadership of General Edie Falco.
Would an all-out assault on that giant human colony happen first? Possibly, and that would give the Na’vi even more access to space-worthy tech. How would the Na’vi fight in space? Someone is gonna have to make Neytiri a laser bow and give her a jetpack.
In the same Polygon article, cinematographer Russell Carpenter is asked about whether a space sequence could end up in a later movie. He is quoted as saying that Cameron is "playing a very long game here" and adds, "...there are going to be aspects of this cosmology that we haven’t seen that are still to be revealed.”
Like Thanos, the Na'vi going to space is inevitable.
Kiri is Eywa Jesus
Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) died in the first movie, and an attempt to save her life using her avatar body appeared to fail. The Way of Water shows us that it did have some effect because Eywa placed a miracle baby inside Na’vi Grace’s synthetic body.
The child is Kiri, also played by Weaver. There’s some gossip about who impregnated Grace, but after the big ceremony with her body in the first movie, we believe that Eywa was responsible. As Shmi Skywalker once said, “there was no father.”
The god of Pandora did answer the prayers of the Na’vi and save Grace… just not in the way that they thought she would. Kiri is the result of an immaculate conception via Eywa, and she’s a human/Na’vi hybrid with an intense connection to both Eywa and Pandora itself. Why? Because Eywa needs an emissary. Kiri is the Avatar version of Jesus.
True understanding and harmony must happen between humanity and the Na’vi. To accomplish this, Eywa created a being who could be the best of both worlds. She is harmony, and she could be the ultimate savior. If they really wanted to drive the symbolism home (and they will), Kiri will die. Her death will be a turning point in the war, and then… resurrection? What is Eywa truly capable of? How obvious is James Cameron going to make this? We’ll have to wait and see.
Na’vi Slavery and body theft
If the humans are going to continue to expand, conquer, and ruin Pandora, then they are going to need manual labor. There are only so many of those tall mech suits to go around, so we fully expect members of the Na’vi to be enslaved.
Once again, the question is not whether Cameron will do this. The question is how far he’ll take it, and how blunt he’ll be about it. Alongside captured Na’vi being forced into literal slave labor, there’s another dastardly sci-fi way for this to become a part of the story. The entire avatar program is now being used by the villains, as shown by the return of Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in a Na’vi avatar body. His memories somehow got put on a chip and placed in that body. What would happen if a memory chip was shoved into an actual living Na’vi?
Humans don’t like wearing masks, do they? Earth is uninhabitable, and the real rich f***s of humankind are gonna be showing up to Pandora soon enough. Are they gonna want to wear those masks that allow humans to breathe on the planet? No way. Is there enough whale brain extract to go around? No. Are there enough avatar bodies? No, and also, why bother making them when there’s a whole planet full of bodies right there?
For the low, low price of your soul, you can get your memories jammed into an actual Na’vi body! None of that synthetic avatar stuff, this is the real deal! Sure you’re killing someone and committing multiple crimes against nature and existence itself, but look at those lovely long legs! You’re gonna like the way you look, the RDA guarantees it.
Humans will not only enslave the Na’vi, they will use avatar tech to hijack their bodies and steal their lives. They need more soldiers, they need more labor, and the rich just need more. The metaphor will hit you over the head so hard that your teeth will come out of your a**hole. It will also allow the story to continue the use of the avatar technology, which would be something to do because these movies still bear that name. Turning a scientific tool that was once used for peaceful methods of study into a horrific corporate joy-toy would be one hell of a way to keep avatar tech relevant.
One way or another, slavery will become a part of this franchise. We see it coming like a space whale being thrown in our faces.
Avatar: The Way of Water is currently in cinemas.
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