James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” Unveils Sizzling Trailer at CinemaCon
James Cameron’s more or less right on time with his third Avatar installment. The ever-ambitious filmmaker was able to reveal footage from Avatar: Fire and Water at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, wowing movie theater owners and industry insiders.
Fire and Water‘s spot-on timing benefited greatly from the fact that Cameron shot the second and third films in the franchise, The Way of Water and Fire and Water, back-to-back. Franchise star Zoe Saldaña took to the stage in Las Vegas to reveal the footage, and CinemaCon attendees got to sit back, settle into their seats, and put on their 3D glasses to watch the trailer. The footage opens on Pandora and introduces two new Na’vi clans—the Wind Traders, masters of the sky who utilize bespoke hot air balloons, and their enemies, the Fire People, who soar into the trailer riding Ikrans, sometimes called banshees, the massive pterodactyl-like creatures that Cameron first introduced in 2009’s Avatar.
When these two clans meet, a battle begins, and the bodies start to drop.
Once again, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Saldaña) are in the middle of the action, which picks up after the events of The Way of Water, which was centered on the conflict between their blue-skinned Na’vi and the rapacious, cruel members of the Resources Development Administration. The RDA is responsible for the death of Jake and Neytiri’s son, Neteyam, and Jake, Neytiri, and the rest of their family had to seek refuge with the water-dwelling Metkayina clan. With the Metkayina, they fight against the RDA across the seas and in the trees. The battle is hardly over when The Way of Water is over.
Ash and Fire depicts the war between the peaceful Wind Traders and the ferocious Ash People, former Na’vi who have forsaken Eywa, a Pandoran deity. Cameron appeared in a pre-recorded video to tell the CinemaCon crowd about the third film: “The Sully family are really put through the wringer on this one as they face not only the human invaders, but new adversaries, the Ash People.”
Cameron had a good excuse for not being in Vegas—he’s in New Zealand, putting the finishing touches on the third film. Time is of the essence as Avatar: Fire and Ash is due in theaters on December 19.
Cameron’s Avatar films have been massive box office successes, and if Fire and Ash does as well as the first two films did, Cameron’s Avatar franchise will become the first in history where three installments grossed more than $2 billion each.
Avatar: Fire and Ash isn’t the only massive movie Disney has slated for this year—their CinemaCon presentation also included looks at Marvel’s Thunderbolts, due in theaters on May 2, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which hits theaters on June 25. The studio also has Zootopia 2, Freakier Friday, Tron: Ares, and the live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, which are all ready to go for this year.
“Disney films are exclusively in theaters for longer than any of our competitors,” said Andrew Cripps, Disney’s global distribution chief. “Trust me, that is not by accident. We believe in the theatrical experience.”
The Avatar franchise has been a massive part of the theatrical experience for more than a decade now, and we’re not even halfway through Cameron’s vision. Avatar 4 is due in theaters on December 21, 2029, and Avatar 5 is slated for a December 19, 2031 release.
For more on the big films announced and revealed at CinemaCon, check out these stories:
James Gunn’s “Superman” Soars for Warner Bros. at CinemaCon
5-Minute “Superman” Sneak Peek: Krypto Unleashed, Fortress Revealed, Robot Helpers in Action
“Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” Swinging Into Theaters in 2027
CinemaCon Captivated: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” Promises Cinematic History
Featured image: A scene from “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Courtesy 20th Century Studios.
