DisneyWith the Avatar 3 release date set for this calendar, audiences can expect to find themselves back in Pandora soon enough. Here’s what we know about Fire and Ash.
The latest Avatar flick, The Way of Water, was released in 2022 and became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. Our Avatar 2 review called it “awe-inspiring,” but there’s so much more still to come.
Cameron has long had his eyes set on multiple sequels, with Avatar 3, 4, and 5 in the works. The good news is, Avatar 3 is much closer than you might think, because it was filmed back-to-back with The Way of Water.
So, here’s what to expect from Jake Sully and the Na’vi this time around as we return to Pandora for the next fiery installment of the sci-fi series.
Avatar 3 release date
Avatar: Fire and Ash is coming to theaters on December 19, 2025.
The title was officially revealed at the 2024 D23 event. Cameron is clearly taking us through the elements, so don’t be surprised to see Avatar 4 and 5 connected to air and earth in some way.
The fourth film will follow on December 21, 2029, before Avatar 5 arrives on December 19, 2031.
James Cameron has aired caution over the chances of Avatar 4 and 5, citing the necessary box office performance to make them feasible for Disney.
Who’s in the cast?
Avatar 3 will bring back the main cast from the franchise, including Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Sigourney Weaver as Kiri, and Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri.
Fire and Ash will see plenty of new characters, with Cameron telling the crowd at D23: “There are new characters, one especially I think you’re gonna love, or love to hate.” Sounds like he’s cooking up an intriguing new villain!
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DisneyHere’s the full Avatar 3 cast so far:
- Sam Worthington as Jake Sully
- Sigourney Weaver as Kiri
- Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri
- Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch
- CCH Pounder as Mo’at
- Cliff Curtis as Tonowari
- Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge
- Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel
- Joel David Moore as Dr. Norm Spellman
- Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore
- Jemaine Clement as Dr. Ian Garvin
- Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
- Oona Chaplin as Varang
- David Thewlis
It had been thought Michelle Yeoh would appear in Avatar 3 as a new character called Dr. Karina Mogue. However, it seems that information had been misreported, and she will actually first show up in Avatar 4.
Cameron himself set the record straight, revealing Yeoh has a role in the fourth and fifth Avatar movie. He told Entertainment Weekly: “She will be coming in soon to do her part, which is an interesting, fun character.”
What will the plot be?
While plot details for Avatar 3 haven’t been confirmed, the new movie will see Jake and his family meet the Ash People of the Na’vi.
Concept art of the Ash People, as well as images of Neytiri riding a banshee and airships, were revealed at D23, giving an idea of what Avatar: Fire and Ash might look like.
Further concept art was released at D23 Brazil, giving a more detailed look at the Ash People:
At the same event, Cameron said [via @cinepop] that the Ash People are “a reflection of the worst kind of N’avi.”
At the core of the sequel is Varang, the antagonistic leader of the Ash People. “[They] have gone through an incredible hardship. She’s hardened by that,” Cameron told Empire.
“She will do anything for them, even things that we would consider to be evil. One thing we wanted to do in this film is not to be black-and-white simplistic. We’re trying to evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm.”
We got our first proper look at Varang through a new poster that dropped on July 21, 2025.
While a specific journey for the Sully family hasn’t yet been outlined, the tragic fallout of Neteyam’s death will surely be the focal point while war continues to brew.
Cameron has confirmed Jake won’t be the narrator in the third chapter. Although he led the charge in the first two acts, his eldest son Lo’ak will now be narrating film number three.
“Lo’ak really emerged as a character that people went with,” Cameron said on the ‘Soundtracking with Edith Bowman’ podcast. “He’s already the narrator. I’m giving away something here, but this is ok.”
Moving forward, this will be a trend that continues down the line. A new narrator will step up for each subsequent film, starting with Lo’ak in Avatar 3.
In February 2025, Cameron also revealed that there may be some heartache on the way, telling Stuff, “I’ve shown it to a few selected people and the feedback has been it’s definitely the most emotional and maybe the best of the three so far. We’ll find out, you know, but I feel pretty good about it. And the work is exceptional from the actors. It’s pretty heart-wrenching in a good way.”
Cameron has also confirmed that the new movie will begin with a title card saying, “No generative A.I. was used in the making of this movie.”
Is there a trailer?
No, there isn’t a trailer for Avatar 3 yet. However, we do know when it’s coming.
The first trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash will be airing before Fantastic Four screenings around the globe. So if you head to your local cinema for the latest MCU flick, you’ll be among the first to see this trailer.
There’s currently no telling when the trailer may debut online, as Disney simply told us it’ll be available “at a later date.”
Nine-hour cut is nonsense
James Cameron has disproved the rumor of a nine-hour-long rough cut of Avatar 3.
There was a claim the director had turned in a mammoth assembly cut, but that was nonsense. Cameron debunked this, clarifying to Temple of Geek: “There is no nine-hour rough cut! I would put a shotgun in my mouth if I ever did a nine-hour rough cut.
“No, what I said was that it’s nine hours of material, meaning Avatar 3, Avatar 4, and Avatar 5. That’s 3 hours a movie. Can you imagine? He would shoot me [points at producer Jon Landau].”
To get up to speed before the new movie, see our guides to the Avatar 2 cast and characters, The Way of Water ending explained, or the best way to watch Avatar 2.