Avatar: Fire and Ash
Avatar: Fire and Ash is a 2025 American epic science fiction film directed by James Cameron, and written by Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is the third in the Avatar film series, and features Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet reprising their roles from the previous films, with Oona Chaplin joining the cast. It follows the human-turned-Na'vi Jake Sully and his family on the habitable moon Pandora, as they face the combined threat of the human RDA forces and the Mangkwan, a tribe of ruthless, warmongering, collaborationist Na'vi.
Cameron, who had stated in mid-2006 that he would like to make sequels to Avatar if it was successful, announced the first two sequels in early 2010 following the success of the first film, with Avatar 3 aiming for a December 2015 release. However, the addition of two further sequels, and the development of new technology required to film performance capture scenes underwater, a feat never accomplished before, led to significant delays to allow the crew more time to work on the writing, pre-production, and visual effects. The film started shooting simultaneously with Avatar: The Way of Water in New Zealand on September 25, 2017. Filming completed in late December 2020, after over three years of shooting. With an estimated production budget of at least $350 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.
Avatar: Fire and Ash had its world premiere at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, on December 1, 2025, and was released in the United States on December 19 by 20th Century Studios. Critical response was generally positive, with praise for the visual effects and spectacle, but complaints that it repeats the narrative beats of its predecessors. It grossed $1.4 billion, becoming the third-highest grossing film of 2025. Named among the top ten films of 2025 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review, it received two Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe Award nominations, and has two planned sequels, production of which is dependent on the box-office performance of Fire and Ash.
Plot
Shortly after settling in with the Metkayina, Jake Sully and his family grieve over Neteyam's death. Neytiri has developed hatred toward humans. When a fleet of flying merchant ships arrive, Jake and Neytiri decide Spider must leave the Metkayina and return to the human scientist camp, but that the family will accompany him for the trip.The ship convoy is ambushed by the volcano-dwelling and warmongering Mangkwan, an aggressive Na'vi tribe who reject Eywa. Led by their matriarch Varang, the Mangkwan set fire to the ships, looting them and killing everyone. The family is separated. Colonel Miles Quaritch and Corporal Lyle Wainfleet find Jake, and they reluctantly work together to find Spider. Spider's oxygen mask loses power, and he collapses from asphyxiation. Kiri connects her queue to the ground and goes into a trance. After his body is infused with mycelia, Spider gains the ability to breathe Pandora's atmosphere.
Eventually, the children are trapped by the Mangkwan. Quaritch and Jake arrive but are captured, and Quaritch teaches Varang how to use guns. Kiri commands the flora to kill their guards, enabling their escape. After examining Spider, Norm Spellman and Max Patel discover an organism inside his body, which they realize could be reverse engineered to allow every human to breathe on Pandora. He has also grown a neural queue on his head, allowing him to connect to Pandoran fauna like the Na'vi. Kiri learns that she was sired by Eywa, but is blocked from connecting with her. Quaritch travels to the Mangkwan's village, bringing them supplies of firearms and flamethrowers. He convinces them to form an alliance, entering a romantic relationship with Varang.
Kiri helps Spider bond with the wildlife, but the two are ambushed and Spider is taken by Quaritch. Quaritch invades the Metkayina village with the Mangkwan, demanding Jake. Jake surrenders himself to avoid war, and he and Spider are taken to the RDA base, Bridgehead City, where the Mangkwan now reside. Looking for Payakan, Lo'ak is attacked by a group of squid; he is rescued by Tulkun whales. Hundreds of Tulkun congregate annually; human hunters want to kill them for profit. RDA biologist Ian Garvin opposes the hunt, but he is ignored.
Spider undergoes testing by RDA scientists, while Jake is scheduled to be executed. Neytiri infiltrates the base, and Ian steals a bulldozer to free Jake. Spider escapes the RDA laboratories, and knowing they cannot afford to kill him, acts as a human shield to protect the couple as they escape. After fleeing, the couple argues over Spider's liability to human conquest of Pandora. Jake prepares to kill Spider, but stops at the last moment; a remorseful Neytiri finally accepts Spider as part of the family.
At the Metkayina village, the Tulkun council hear Jake's warning of an expected massacre, but decide not to change their pacifist ways. Lo'ak brings Payakan and Tan'ok, the disfigured sole survivor of a human attack on Payakan's pod, and the Tulkun elders reconsider. Jake re-bonds with the apex predator Toruk and rallies the Na'vi clans to battle. The next day, as the RDA fleet arrives for the hunt, the Tulkun and Na'vi ambush them. The Mangkwan and Quaritch suddenly attack, inflicting heavy casualties. Metkayina matriarch Ronal is mortally wounded and dies in childbirth, with Neytiri taking her baby, Pril, but she is captured and taken to the RDA flagship.
With Spider and Tuk's help, Kiri finally communicates with Eywa and pleads for help; the Pandoran wildlife ambushes the rest of the RDA forces in response, saving the cornered Tulkun. Varang tries to kill Neytiri, but is repelled by Kiri. Jake's Toruk destroys the RDA flagship in a magnetic flux. Jake and Quaritch are thrown into the flux and fight once again, with Spider following. Their fight is interrupted when Spider falls off a floating rock, forcing them to work together and save him. When Neytiri and her children arrive, Quaritch throws himself off the rock.
After the battle, Spider and the Metkayina clan members connect to the underwater spirit trees, where he meets all the deceased Na'vi. Kiri introduces Spider to her mother, Grace, and they initiate him into the Na'vi people.
Cast
- Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, a former human who fell in love with Neytiri and befriended the Na'vi after becoming a part of the Avatar Program, eventually taking their side in their conflict with humans and transferred his mind into his avatar permanently. In the second film, he and his family have left the Omaticaya clan and joined the Metkayina clan.
- Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, Jake's wife who left the Omaticaya and joined the Metkayina. Saldaña described her character as having become a "full-blown racist" toward humans following the death of her son, Neteyam, to the point she has abandoned Eywa's will and her husband does not recognize her anymore.
- Sigourney Weaver as Kiri, the daughter of Dr. Grace Augustine's Na'vi avatar, who was adopted by Jake and Neytiri.
- * Weaver also reprises her role as Dr. Grace Augustine, who appears as a spirit.
- Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch, formerly a human military commander who led the forces of the RDA, the human organization colonizing Pandora, and died in their conflict with the Na'vi in the first film. He and other fallen soldiers were later resurrected as Na'vi "Recombinants". He seeks revenge against Jake and his family, but demonstrates interest in a relationship with his son Miles "Spider" Socorro.
- Oona Chaplin as Varang, the Na'vi leader of the volcano-dwelling and warmongering Mangkwan clan. Cameron said of Varang that "Varang is the leader of a people who have gone through an incredible hardship. She's hardened by that. She will do anything for them, even things that we would consider to be evil."
- Kate Winslet as Ronal, a free diver of the Metkayina and Tonowari's wife, who is pregnant.
- Cliff Curtis as Tonowari, chieftain of the reef people clan of Metkayina as well as Ronal's husband and father of Tsireya and Aonung.
- Joel David Moore as Dr. Norm Spellman, a former scientist of the Avatar Program who chose to side with the Na'vi in the first film.
- CCH Pounder as Mo'at, the Omaticaya's spiritual leader and Neytiri's mother.
- Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore, Quaritch's superior as commander of the RDA's military operations.
- Brendan Cowell as Captain Mick Scoresby, the former commander of a private sector marine hunting vessel on the planet of Pandora who previously lost an arm to Payakan.
- Jemaine Clement as Dr. Ian Garvin, a marine biologist employed by Scoresby.
- Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge, the disgraced former head administrator for the RDA mining operation in the first film.
- David Thewlis as Peylak, the Na'vi leader of the Wind Traders.
- Britain Dalton as Lo'ak, Jake and Neytiri's misunderstood second son and the narrator of the film. He is the "spiritual brother" of the outcast Tulkun Payakan and is guilt-ridden over the death of his brother Netayam.
- Jack Champion as Miles "Spider" Socorro, the teenaged son of Quaritch born in Hell's Gate who was rescued from Quaritch by Jake and Neytiri at the end of The Way of Water.
- Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuktirey "Tuk", Jake and Neytiri's daughter and their youngest child.
- Jamie Flatters as Neteyam, Jake and Neytiri's first son and oldest child who died in battle in the previous film, and now appears as a spirit.
- Bailey Bass as Tsireya "Reya", a graceful and strong free diver of the Metkayina and Tonowari and Ronal's daughter. In the second film, Tsireya emerges as Lo'ak's love interest.
- Filip Geljo as Aonung, a young male hunter and free diver of the Metkayina who is Tonowari and Ronal's son and Tsireya's brother.
- Duane Evans Jr. as Rotxo, a young male hunter and free diver of the Metkayina.
- Matt Gerald as Lyle Wainfleet, a mercenary who fought and died in the RDA's battle against the Na'vi in the first film. Years later, the RDA placed his memories into a Recombinant.
- Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel, a scientist who worked in the Avatar Program and came to support Jake's rebellion against the RDA.
Production
Development
In mid-2006, James Cameron stated that if Avatar was successful, he hoped to make two sequels to the film. In early 2010, he said that the film's widespread success confirmed that he would do so. The sequels were originally scheduled for release in and 2015. He included certain scenes in the first film for future story follow-ups. Cameron planned to shoot the sequels back-to-back and to begin work "once the novel is nailed down". The sequels were confirmed as continuing to follow the characters of Jake and Neytiri in December 2009. Cameron implied that the humans would return as the antagonists of the story. In early 2011, Cameron stated his intention to film the sequels at a higher frame rate than the industry standard 24 frames per second, in order to add a heightened sense of reality.In late 2013, Cameron announced that the sequels would be filmed in New Zealand, with performance capture to take place in 2014. An agreement with the New Zealand government required at least one world premiere to be held in Wellington and at least NZ$500 million to be spent on production activity in New Zealand, including live-action filming and visual effects. The New Zealand government announced it would raise its baseline tax rebate for filmmaking from 15% to 20%, with 25% available to international productions in some cases and 40% for New Zealand productions.
In February 2016, production of the sequels was scheduled to begin in April 2016 in New Zealand. Cinematographer Russell Carpenter, who worked with Cameron on True Lies and Titanic, and art director Aashrita Kamath, joined as crew members for the four sequels. Kirk Krack, founder of Performance Freediving International, worked as a free-diving trainer for the cast and crew for the underwater scenes. On July 31, 2017, it was announced that the New Zealand-based visual effects studio Weta Digital had commenced work on the Avatar sequels.
Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver were originally announced as Cameron's co-writers; it was later announced that Cameron, Jaffa, Silver, Josh Friedman, and Shane Salerno took a part in the writing process of all of the sequels before being assigned to finish the separate scripts, making the eventual writing credits unclear. According to Cameron, this film was split off from Avatar: The Way of Water because the original conception of that film had too much material. Cameron stated, "In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2. The was moving like a bullet train, and we weren't drilling down enough on character. So I said, 'Guys, we've got to split it.
In November 2018, BBC News reported that Avatar: The Seed Bearer was a potential title for the film after getting a scoop for the future plans. Three months later, Cameron told Entertainment Tonight that it is in consideration and no final decision was made at that time. On August 9, 2024, the official title of the film was revealed by Cameron as Avatar: Fire and Ash at the D23 fan convention. Cameron said of the title "I don't think I could say too much about it until you actually see the film and you see what it means, but if you think of fire as hatred, anger, violence, that sort of thing, and ash is the aftermath. So what's the aftermath? Grief, loss, right? And then what does that cause in the future? More violence, more anger, more hatred. It's a vicious cycle. So that's the thinking."
Cameron revealed in a 2023 interview with 20 minutes that the film would feature a new Na'vi tribe, called the "Ash people", who would be the antagonists of the film.
Writing
Cameron wanted to explore "different cultures" from the first two Avatar films by including "Ash People"—fiery versions of Na'vi that was inspired by the Baining people in Papua New Guinea. He chose them to add "another angle" as enemies because Cameron previously took Na'vi "good sides" and humans on another. Landau said:Cameron said that "One thing we wanted to do in this film is not be black-and-white simplistic. Or blue-and-pink simplistic.... We're trying to evolve beyond the 'all humans are bad, all Na'vi are good' paradigm." On the topic of the Wind Traders, Cameron explained they are "nomadic traders, equivalent to the camel caravans of the Spice Road back in the Middle Ages. And you know, they're just fun. Like all Na'vi, they live in a symbiosis with their creatures". Cameron explained he provided such a focus on Varang and Quaritch, the film's antagonists, entirely "because it was cool," which he stated was his "ultimate modus operandi."
Cameron also said that:
Champion said of reading the script for Fire and Ash:
Casting
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña were confirmed in January 2010 to have signed on to reprise their roles in the sequels. Cameron also stated that Sigourney Weaver would be featured in all three sequels and that her character Grace Augustine would be alive, but it was later revealed she would instead be playing Kiri, Jake and Neytiri's adopted daughter. In August 2017, in an interview with Empire, Cameron revealed that Stephen Lang would not only be returning in all four sequels but he would also be the main antagonist in all four films.In August 2017, Matt Gerald had officially signed on to portray his first film's role Corporal Lyle Wainfleet in all upcoming sequels. On October 3, 2017, Kate Winslet had signed on for an undisclosed number of films in an unspecified role. Cameron commented, "Kate and I had been looking for something to do together for 20 years, since our collaboration on Titanic, which was one of the most rewarding of my career", and added that her character was named Ronal. On January 25, 2018, Dileep Rao was confirmed to return as Dr. Max Patel. Winslet commented that her role was "relatively small comparative to the lengthy shoot", as she would only have one month of shootings, but also "a pivotal character in the ongoing story".
In June 2017, Oona Chaplin joined the cast as Varang, "a strong and vibrant central character who spans the entire saga of the sequels" starting with Fire and Ash. Eiza González also auditioned for Chaplin's role. On casting the relatively unknown Chaplin, Cameron explained, "There was something just locked into. There's a sexuality; there's a dominating psychology, and there's a lot of fury. There are a lot of layers to what she's doing there and the forces that are driving her. Oona was able to move fluidly back and forth between those in a way that I wasn't seeing with the others." In April 2018, David Thewlis revealed his involvement in the franchise, stating that he would be featured in three of the four sequels, later stating in January 2020 that his character was a Na'vi. This led to Thewlis being largely reported as part of the cast of The Way of Water; however, he stated in June 2020 that the reports were wrong, and that he would actually be a part of Fire and Ash up to 5.
Filming
Principal photography began simultaneously with The Way of Water on September 25, 2017, in Manhattan Beach, California. On November 14, 2018, Cameron announced filming with the principal performance capture cast had been completed. Most filming on the fourth and fifth films will begin after wrapping the post-production on the first two sequels. According to producer Jon Landau, live-action filming for Fire and Ash and its predecessor commenced in New Zealand in early 2019. On March 17, 2020, Landau announced that filming in New Zealand had been postponed indefinitely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also confirmed that production would remain in Los Angeles. However, work on visual effects continued at Wētā FX in Wellington.In early May, health and safety production protocols had been endorsed by the New Zealand government, allowing filming to resume in the country. On May 31, part of the Avatar crew including James Cameron were granted entry into New Zealand under a special visa category for border exemptions for foreigners deemed essential to a project of "significant economic value". On June 1, 2020, Landau posted a picture of himself and Cameron on Instagram, showing that they had returned to New Zealand to resume filming. After their arrival, all 55 crew members who had traveled to New Zealand started a 2-week government-supervised isolation period at a hotel in Wellington before they would resume filming. This would make Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: Fire and Ash the first major Hollywood blockbusters to resume production after postponing filming due to the pandemic. In September 2020, Cameron announced that 95% of Avatar: Fire and Ash had been completed. Filming wrapped in December 2020.
Following the December 2022 release of The Way of Water, Cameron decided to partially rewrite the script of the film to incorporate scenes involving the bird character of Toruk, which was introduced in the first film. Additionally, the role of Payakan was enlarged after the character emerged as a fan favorite in The Way of Water.
In February 2024, Cameron gave the following update on Avatar: Fire and Ash:
Music
In August 2021, Landau announced that Simon Franglen would compose the score for the Avatar sequels. In October 2025, it was announced that Miley Cyrus would create an original song for the film, titled "Dream as One", co-written with Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. It was released on November 14, 2025, and plays during the end credits. The soundtrack was released on December 5, 2025. A second original song, "The Future and the Past", composed by Franglen and sung in the fictional Na'vi language by Saldaña, closes the album.Marketing
It was reported that approximately $150 million had been allocated as the marketing budget for the film.In late July 2025, the teaser trailer was officially released exclusively in theaters before screenings of The Fantastic Four: First Steps and online on July 28. The trailer received positive responses from critics and fan sites, particularly focusing on the visuals. The theatrical trailer was released on September 25.
In October 2025, Avatar: The Way of Water was re-released in theaters, with one of three clips from Fire and Ash randomly inserted as a mid-credits scene. One of the scenes shows Quaritch approaching an encampment of Ash Na'vi, and having a confrontation with Varang. Another of the scenes shows Sully's family boarding a Windtrader ship and meeting with Peylak. A third scene starts with the Sully family flying in the Windtrader ships when they are attacked by Ash Na'vi.
Release
Avatar: Fire and Ash was released in the United States on December 19, 2025, by 20th Century Studios. Like its predecessor, the film was subject to multiple delays since the crew took more time on the writing, pre-production and visual effects process. It was originally scheduled for December 2015, until Cameron pushed the release to 2016, 2017 and 2018. In April 2016, coinciding with the launch of four Avatar sequels, a new release date of December 2020 was announced. The following year, a new release date of December 17, 2021, was announced, with the recurring sequels: Avatar ''4 and 5'' scheduled for release on December 20, 2024, and December 19, 2025, respectively. However, following the announcement in May 2019 of three new Star Wars films, the sequels' release dates were pushed back by two years, with Avatar: Fire and Ash, being scheduled to be released on December 22, 2023. The release date was again pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in August 2020, a new release of December 20, 2024, was announced. On June 13, 2023, the film was delayed again to its final date due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Avatar: Fire and Ash was released in formats, such as Dolby Cinema and IMAX 3D, and its forthcoming sequels will be released in it.In December 2022, shortly after Avatar: The Way of Water was released, it was stated that James Cameron's first cut of Fire and Ash had a running time of nine hours. Cameron later clarified that the nine hours of material referred to Avatar: Fire and Ash, Avatar 4, and Avatar 5 being each three-hour films for a total of nine hours. He later specified that the run time of Fire and Ash would be longer than the 3 hour 12 minute run time of The Way of Water.
The film was delayed to January 8, 2026, in Hong Kong due to the Wang Fuk Court fire, along with its subtitle dropped to avoid insensitivity, making Hong Kong the latest territory to receive a release worldwide. The Australian premiere that was scheduled for December 15, 2025, was cancelled as a result of the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting.
The film was also released in the 4DX format, which incorporates motion-enabled seating and environmental effects such as wind, water, and vibration to accompany on-screen action. These effects are synchronized with key sequences in the film, including aerial and action scenes, to provide an enhanced theatrical presentation. The 4DX format is designed to complement the film's visual elements and is one of several premium viewing options made available alongside standard and three-dimensional formats.
The film is dedicated to editor John Refoua and producer Jon Landau, who died in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Reception
Box office
, Avatar: Fire and Ash has grossed $386.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.028 billion in other territories, for a worldwide total of $1.414 billion.By December 17, 2025, prior to the film's release in the United States and Canada, Deadline Hollywood projected an opening weekend of $340–380 million worldwide; it ended up opening to $347 million worldwide. The film made $12 million during Thursday previews in the United States and Canada, $5 million less than the previews for Avatar: The Way of Water. It ended up grossing $89.2 million during its opening weekend in the United States and Canada. Despite leading the box office and grossing more than the 2009 film's weekend debut of $77 million, the film's opening weekend domestic gross was a significant decline from the $134.1 million made by its predecessor in 2022. In its second weekend, Avatar: Fire and Ash retained the top spot at the box office and grossed $63.1 million, a decline of 29% and smaller than its predecessor's second weekend drop of 53%. In its third weekend, Avatar: Fire and Ash once again topped box office with $41.4 million, a decline of 34%. The film topped the box office again in its fourth weekend with $21.5 million, a decline of 49%. It retained the top spot at the box office in its fifth weekend with $14.5 million, declining 33%. In its sixth weekend, Avatar: Fire and Ash was dethroned by Mercy and grossed $6.4 million.
Critical response
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same grade as the previous two films.Publications characterized the film's critical reception as ranging from mixed to positive. Initial reactions were mostly positive, with critics calling the film an "ultimate cinematic spectacle", though there was criticism for the plot. Max Scoville of IGN wrote, "Avatar: Fire and Ash isn't the technical leap forward that its predecessor was, which is to be expected after three years instead of thirteen. But what it lacks in novelty, it more than makes up for with refinement on every level."
Accolades
At the 98th Academy Awards, Avatar: Fire and Ash received two nominations: Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects. Fire and Ash, however, is the first film in the Avatar film series not to be nominated for Best Picture. The film led all film nominees for the 53rd Saturn Awards with twelve nominations, including Best Science Fiction Film and Best Film Direction.Future
Fire and Ash is the second of four planned sequels to Avatar. Although the last two sequels had reportedly been green-lit, Cameron stated in a November 26, 2017, interview, "Let's face it, if Avatar 2 and 3 don't make enough money, there's not going to be a 4 and 5." David Thewlis later confirmed this in February 2018, stating "they're making 2 and 3, they're gonna see if people go and see them, and then they'll make 4 and 5". Conversely, Sigourney Weaver stated in November 2018, after the first two sequels had completed main photography, that she was currently "busy doing Avatar 4 and 5", which several media outlets interpreted as confirmation that the last two sequels had started filming. Cameron has stated that just like The Way of Water and Fire and Ash "really tell one big story", Avatar 4 and 5 are also intended to "tell one big story."In January 2019, in the midst of the proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that both Avatar 4 and 5 were being developed but had not been officially green-lit. According to producer Jon Landau in February 2019, Iger may have been misinterpreted. He said that Avatar 4 and 5 "are not only " but also a third of Avatar 4 has already been filmed.
In September 2022, at the D23 Expo, Cameron announced that production for Avatar 4 had officially begun. In January 2024, Cameron said that he would not start filming the remainder of Avatar 4 until Fire and Ash is released.
In November 2025, Cameron reiterated that the last two sequels would not go ahead if Fire and Ash is unsuccessful at the box office, but that he "will write a book" instead to resolve the "one open thread" the third installment leaves open.
In January 2026, Cameron stopped short of confirming whether Avatar 4 and 5 would officially happen, but did reaffirm Fire and Ash will need to succeed at the box office and added that he will need to figure out a way to make both sequels for a lesser budget, in order to get the approval from the studio. "The movie industry is depressed right now. Avatar 3 cost a lot of money. We have to do well in order to continue and we need to figure out how to make Avatar movies more inexpensively in order to continue If we continue and we do 4, we also do 4 and 5 together. So we made 2 and 3 together, one big story, and then 4 and 5 is another big story", he explained. Cameron also confirmed that actress Michelle Yeoh will "definitely" appear in 4, if made, sharing that she will be a Na'vi "performance capture character" named Paktu'eylat. The official Avatar Twitter account first announced her in the role of Dr. Karina Mogue in 2019, but has since changed roles. Yeoh confirmed that she "shot for a few weeks" in 2022.