20th Century Studios will be returning to Pandora for a third time with Avatar: Fire and Ash, the highly anticipated threequel in the Avatar franchise. The film won't hit theaters for another 11 months, and very few details have been released. However, director James Cameron has shed a bit of light on the film in an interview with Empire magazine, describing the filming process for Fire and Ash and how it will differ from the prior installments.
"We've got some really clever action set-pieces," Cameron told Empire. "You can get your blood up in this movie. But what excites me as an artist who recently turned 70 and has kind of done all that stuff is not only the opportunity to get to do it again, but to get to a level of character and intrigue you haven’t seen before in an Avatar movie." Cameron also said the film would take audiences to "places they won't expect, but that will feel earned." He additionally spoke about the physical elements of making the film:
“It's in strong shape, I think. We've doubled the number of shots finished at this stage of the game than we had on movie two [and] the films are about equal length. So that puts us well ahead of the curve, which is something I’ve never, frankly, experienced before. [The process is] a little bit less nightmarish. We're getting to the point where we're actually getting good at this."
'Fire and Ash' Introduces a New Clan
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While the second film, Avatar: The Way of Water, introduced a seafaring tribe of Na'vi, Fire and Ash will thurst audiences into the story of a new, fire-centered Na'vi tribe led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Varang, as the leader of the Ash Clan, crosses paths during the film with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a human-turned Na'vi who ended the last film transitioning to a life on the water with his mate Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver). All three will return for Fire and Ash, alongside the villainous Quaritch (Stephen Lang), as well as Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder, David Thewlis, and more.
Cameron, who has at least two more Avatar sequels in the works for 2029 and 2031 releases, is directing Fire and Ash from a screenplay he wrote with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. The three additionally came up with the film's story alongside Shane Salerno and Josh Friedman. Cameron is also producing the film for his Lightstorm Entertainment banner alongside the late Jon Landau.
Avatar: Fire and Ash hits theaters on Dec. 19, 2025. Avatar: The Way of Water is streaming now on Disney+.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third entry in James Cameron's five-movie franchise set in the fictional world of Pandora.
Image via Annamaria Ward
Image via Disney
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