‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ First Footage Sets CinemaCon Ablaze
Are you ready to go back to Pandora?
Disney screened the first footage from Avatar: Fire and Ash for exhibitors at on Thursday, introduced by in a video segment. Cameron explained that he is in New Zealand finishing the film but was pleased to share a “glimpse at the increased emotional heart and soul.”
Cameron also teased that our heroes “face not only the human invaders but new adversaries, the Ash people.”
star Zoe Saldaña then took the stage to tease the film. “Fire and Ash expands the beautiful world of Pandora and introduces two new clans, the Wind Traders and the Ash people,” she explained.
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The footage opens with Neytiri (Saldaña) telling Jake (Sam Worthington), “The strength of the ancestors is here.”
Later, after the pair deal with dangerous attacks involving plenty of fire, Jake implores Neytiri to let go of her hatred: “You cannot live like this.” Toward the end of the footage, one character laments, “We cannot defeat this enemy that comes from the stars.”
This roughly three minutes of footage gave theater owners a first look at Cameron’s eagerly anticipated sci-fi fantasy film, which is expected to be a major December tentpole for the studio.
The first two Avatar films broke box office records, with the first, in 2009, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, earning $2.9 billion globally. The second, 2022’s The Way of Water, became the third high-grossing film of all time, surpassing expectations to earn $2.3 billion globally.
The release of The Way of Water was accompanied by worry about whether Cameron could re-create the box office magic of the original, which was fueled by heavy 3D ticket sales. There seems to be less fretting around Fire and Ash — which is released Dec. 19 — given Oscar-winning writer-director’s undeniable track record and his usual confidence that the third film will deliver.
“It’s really fucking cool,” Cameron teased to Hollywood Reporter last August. “You’re going to love it.” the director added in another interview, “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.”
That said, Cameron has teased that Fire and Ash “will be a bit longer” than The Way of Water, which is really saying something given the last film was 3 hours and 12 minutes.
“In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of Movie 2,” Cameron said last month. “The [film] 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. Movie 3 will actually be a little bit longer than Movie 2.”
The original Avatar had a running time of 2 hours and 42 minutes. A longer run time, of course, means fewer potential theatrical screenings during a day, which could impact ticket sales.
The official description of Fire and Ash: “Jake and Neytiri’s family grapples with grief after Neteyam’s death, encountering a new, aggressive Na’vi tribe, the Ash People, who are led by the fiery Varang, as the conflict on Pandora escalates and a new moral focus emerges.” The film stars Worthington, Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Britain Dalton, Jack Champion, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Matt Gerald, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Bailey Bass, Jemaine Clement and David Thewlis.
Cameron plans five Avatar films in all, with Avatar 4 set for Dec. 21, 2029, and Avatar 5 on Dec. 19, 2031.
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