With the release of “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” it’s time to return to Pandora, the spectacularly detailed world invented by the director James Cameron. In the original “Avatar” (2009), the long-limbed blue Na’vi of the moon Pandora are forced to deal with humans — or “sky people” — when they arrive to mine for a substance known as Unobtainium, using avatar bodies to get around. The mythology grew deeper with the 2022 release of “Avatar: The Way of Water.” To reorient yourself before the next chapter, here’s a primer.
What’s going on with the Sully family?
At the center of the “Avatar” universe is the Sully family, led by the former Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who gave up his human body at the end of the first film to live on Pandora with his love, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña). Jake and Neytiri have three biological children. Neytiri is a member of a clan of forest people, but in “The Way of Water” the Sullys sought refuge among a group of reef Na’vi known as the Metkayina. As “Fire and Ash” opens, the Sullys are in mourning. Their eldest son, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), was killed trying to save his younger siblings, including Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), the more rebellious brother with whom Jake is easily frustrated. The Sullys also have a young daughter, Tuk (Trinity Bliss), and they care for two other youngsters, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).
So Sigourney Weaver is still playing a teenager?
One of the strangest developments in “The Way of Water” was that Weaver wasn’t playing Grace, the researcher who dies in the first movie, but a teenage Na’vi girl. That meant that the actress, in her 70s, would be tackling a role around 60 years her junior. But it wasn’t just a bit of creative casting. Cameron kept his longtime collaborator in a key part: Kiri, Jake and Neytiri’s adopted daughter. But who is her mother? That would be Grace, hence the Weaver connection. Well, to be specific, Kiri was born from Grace’s avatar, which was mysteriously impregnated, perhaps related to the fact that, just before she died, the Na’vi tried to transfer her consciousness into the alien body using the Tree of Souls. Kiri is an oddball and has an intense connection to the goddess Eywa, the center of religious life on Pandora. When Kiri connects to the underwater Spirit Tree and communes with Grace — played by the human version of Weaver — she starts to seize, risking death. This detail will become very important to the plot of “Fire and Ash.”
What is the deal with Spider?
In “The Way of Water,” Cameron also introduced a punky human kid with dreadlocks who uses the ’90s slang of John Connor in “Terminator 2.” This is Spider, played by Champion. Spider was raised on Pandora, abandoned after the events of the first movie because babies cannot be transported through space in cryo sleep. Spider can’t breathe Pandora’s air, so whenever he’s outside he has to wear a mask, which seems like a major inconvenience. He’s basically a brother to the Sully siblings, but Neytiri is suspicious of this “sky person” in her orbit, especially because Spider’s father is Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the main antagonist of the franchise. Like Grace, Quaritch also died in “Avatar,” and Cameron also found a way for Lang to return. After Quaritch was killed, his memories were uploaded to an avatar body. So when Quaritch re-emerges on Pandora in blue form, he both is and isn’t really Spider’s dad. Thus, Spider has a lot of complicated feelings about his quasi-father figure. At the end of “The Way of Water” he decides to save the new Quaritch’s life, a decision he may come to regret.
Why are the tulkun important?
Pandora is teeming with creatures, but the most significant to the saga right now are the tulkun. These whale-like beings are highly intelligent and incredibly peaceful, yet they are hunted by evil humans because their brains contain a substance called Amrita, which can stop aging and is worth millions of dollars. The capitalist leading the charge against the tulkun is Scoresby (Brendan Cowell), who helpfully explains that all human research on Pandora is funded by the sale of Amrita. The tulkun, who have a special connection with the reef people, don’t fight back because it is against their moral code.
Who is Payakan?
Within the tulkun, the most important name to remember is Payakan. Payakan is a tulkun who saves Lo’ak in “The Way of Water” after he’s abandoned by some young members of the Metkayina who are goofing off. Most crucially to the plot, Payakan is an outcast among the tulkun because he’s been deemed a killer. Except, of course, Payakan is mostly misunderstood. He gathered a group of tulkun to fight back against the humans after his mother was killed, and even though he was not responsible for the deaths that ensued, the tulkun still believe he did wrong.
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