‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Isn’t About Spectacle, It’s About Family

Navi might be tall, skinny, and blue, but they’ve still got problems. Problems that you and I can relate to. Problems that the world can relate to. And that’s a huge part of why the Avatar franchise has become the multi-billion dollar success it is and will probably continue to be.

The third film in the saga, Avatar: Fire and Ash, opens in theaters on December 19, and it follows the Sully clan through some of their most difficult times yet. “This film is very interesting because the family gets separated… and [the kids] have to learn to rely on each other and rely on ourselves,†star Sigourney Weaver told io9 in Los Angeles last week. “And I think that’s a really important time in your life. When you have to do something you don’t think you can do, don’t want to do, and you have to step up. That’s how you grow. [And] it’s not always a nice feeling. It’s hard.â€

But in those hard feelings, writer-director James Cameron, as well as his cast, found their connection to the material. A connection that extends well beyond Avatar’s fictional world of Pandora.

“Jim, when he writes these stories, he doesn’t shy away from the realities he knows as a dad,†Weaver said. “There’s so much that’s real, like the mixed-race family, a mother who’s mourning her son and hates the Sky people even more. All these things are happening now in our world.â€

Fire and Ash, more so than the previous Avatar films, really goes for it in terms of deep, dark themes. Weaver alludes to some of them, but there are many more, including suicide, racism, capital punishment, and so much more.

“I love what Jim does with these movies,†said Sam Worthington, who plays the lead character, Jake Sully. “He doesn’t really give you definitive answers. He’s making movies that leave you with questions about how we connect with each other, how we connect with our family, and how we have empathy towards our world. [And] I believe this one does it more than the others even.â€

One character that helps shape that argument is Varang, a villainous new Navi played by Oona Chaplin. Varang is the leader of the Ash people, who have a whole other way of living on Pandora, and, well, she does things a little differently.

“Jim said to me early on, ‘Anything that makes her afraid, she’ll run right for it,’†Chaplin says. “And that is a very specific kind of character, which is very different from me. I kind of tend to run the other direction if something terrifies me. But it was beautiful to go into that.â€

The young cast feels the same way about their characters. Cameron’s script and their fellow actors gave them a strong reality to play with, even if they would eventually become nine feet tall and blue. “All the actors on the set are so dedicated and want to give so much, and it really makes our jobs very easy,†Bailey Bass, who plays Tsireya, said. “I’m really proud of the emotional arc that Tsireya has. She shows that you can still be defiant and be strong while being kind and soft. It’s rare. I feel like that’s rare in many characters, and that’s something that she’s continued to hold true.â€

But will Avatar itself hold true? While Cameron has shot footage of the young cast to use in flashbacks for part four, there’s no guarantee the rest of the film will happen. Whatever the case, though, you can tell that the cast all feel a real affinity not just for their characters but for the world itself.

“I’ll always be grateful for all the people I’ve met on the cast, the crew, the ways that I’ve gotten to grow because of them,†said Trinity Bliss, who plays Tuk, the youngest Sully. “I’m an Avatar fan, so I think I’d feel sad not to continue the saga, because the story is so beautiful, and it’s already been fleshed out. I just would love to grow with my character and continue to discover her, but I would also just feel immensely grateful for everything thus far.â€

That kind of adoration doesn’t come out of the (pun intended) blue. It comes from the top. Cameron himself talks about the films less like big, grand, sci-fi action films and more like a gathering of friends and family. “This has been a 20-year journey for me,†Cameron said. “I get to work with the most amazing actors. Some of them, like Sigourney Weaver, have been friends of mine for years. Others have just come into my world. I met Zoe [Saldaña] and Sam on the first film. Because we shot films two and three together, even though Oona doesn’t appear until film three, we were working together [starting in] September 2017.  People think it’s an exaggeration or some kind of marketing hook or something, but when we talk about the Avatar family, there’s a family you see in the film, but there’s a family behind the lens or behind the screen that’s us working together over a period of years and in respect and love and in the joyfulness of the craft. And that means a lot to us.â€

It carries into the performances, which carry into the story, and eventually hits the screen. That’s why Avatar: Fire and Ash is almost certain to wow audiences with a trip to Pandora once again.

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