James Cameron is teasing the dark personal journey Neytiri is barreling toward in Avatar: Fire and Ash. The Terminator director is at the helm of the third sci-fi epic that brings fans back to the world of Pandora, following the story of the Sully family. The latest movie picks up after the events of Avatar: The Way of Water, which dealt the family a devastating blow, with the death of their oldest son, Neteyam. As the Sully clan tackles their grief, the events of Fire and Ash pose a new threat, the Ash People.
The Ash People are a tribe of Na’Vi who have embraced fire and technology following a cataclysmic event that destroyed their home. Now they live in a volcanic, ash-laden land, where they have allied with franchise antagonist Miles Quaritch. While the Ash People pose a greater threat to Pandora, Neytiri’s grief also steers her toward their culture and ideals, setting a potential family rift that could break the Sully family apart.
In an exclusive interview with MovieWeb’s own Joe Deckelmeier, Cameron discusses how Neytiri’s grief helped inspire the Ash People in Avatar: Fire and Ash. The new tribe offers a dark counterpoint to Neytiri’s demeanor, reflecting her pain on a grander scale, with Cameron noting, “She cannot rescue herself.” With Fire and Ash poised to tell a darker story, the Ash People could seduce Neytiri away from the ideals she once held dear:
“I started from the premise that Neytiri was going to be this wounded creature from the loss of her eldest son from that family tragedy, and it takes her down a hateful path. And I thought, all right, what if I took that and wrote that large as an entire culture that has been traumatized and has gone down a hateful path as well, so that we see where it could lead for her if she cannot rescue herself, or those around her rescue her. And of course, we love Neytiri. Historically, we’ve seen that she’s the character people are most fascinated by. They like everybody, and Jake’s the center. He’s the rock at the center of the whole thing. But she’s extraordinary, and so we don’t want to see her fall.”
Neytiri’s Journey in ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Won’t Be Easy
Zoe Saldaña is returning to the role of Neytiri in the latest installment of the Avatar franchise, which is set to explore another corner of Pandora. However, Neytiri is troubled by her son’s death, with Saldaña recently commenting that her character becomes unrecognizable to her husband, Jake, again played by Sam Worthington. However, the MCU star also knows that tragedy evokes an unseen side of Neytiri, calling her a “full-blown racist”:
“I mean, she’s a full-blown racist in Fire and Ash, and to a degree that Jake doesn’t really recognize her anymore, and she’s a stranger to herself, and she’s abandoned the will of Eywa in the sense that it’s like it’s a child.”
With Avatar: Fire and Ash teasing a bleaker journey than prior films in the franchise, it also sets the stage for characters to enter uncharted territory. Neytiri’s path and the story of the Sully family look to be forever changed, and the danger appears greater than ever before. While the family suffered one loss, the stakes suggest it won’t be the last, making Fire and Ash a potentially devastating film for audiences and beloved characters.
- Release Date
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December 19, 2025
- Runtime
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195 Minutes