The highly anticipated third installment of the visual spectacle film franchise, Avatar, now has an official title. Director James Cameron, along with stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington, unveiled the title Avatar: Fire and Ash during the D23 Expo. Though Cameron didn’t present any footage, he did share concept art from the film, featuring Neytiri (played by Saldana) dancing over flames and riding banshees, according to a report from Variety. "You’ll see a lot more of Pandora than you ever have before," Cameron teased. “It’s an insane adventure and a feast for the eyes, but it’s also got very high emotional stakes, more than ever before. We’re going into really challenging territory for all the characters you know and love.”
As per Variety, Cameron shot ‘Fire and Ash’ back-to-back with 2022’s ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, which depicts the war between humanity and the Na’vi after the rapacious Resources Development Administration (RDA) returns to the alien moon of Pandora. By the end of ‘The Way of Water’, the family of Jake Sully (Worthington) and Neytiri (Saldana) successfully fight back an RDA assault against the aquatic Metkayina clan and the whale-like Tulkuns with which they live in harmony. But their eldest son is killed in the fighting, and the RDA remains deeply entrenched on Pandora. ‘Fire and Ash’ will pick up soon after those events, as Jake and Neytiri encounter the 'Ash People', a clan of Na’vi who Cameron has hinted are drawn more to violence and power than other clans. “There are new characters, one especially I think you’re gonna love, or love to hate,” Cameron said. Along with Worthington and Saldana, the returning cast includes Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, Jack Champion, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Bailey Bass, Joel David Moore, Edie Falco and Dileep Rao.
(With IANS inputs)
