Avatar: Fire and Ash

Avatar: Fire and Ash is a 2025 American epic science fiction film directed by James Cameron from a screenplay he co-wrote with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. Produced by Lightstorm Entertainment, it is the third installment in the Avatar film series and the sequel to Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). The film features Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet reprising their roles from previous films. The story follows the human-turned-Na'vi Jake Sully and his family on the habitable moon Pandora, as they face the combined threat of the human RDA forces and the Mangkwan, a tribe of ruthless, warmongering, collaborationist Na'vi.

Cameron, who had stated in mid-2006 that he would like to make sequels to Avatar (2009) if it was successful, announced the first two sequels in early 2010 following the success of the first film, with Avatar 3 aiming for a December 2015 release. However, the addition of two further sequels, and the development of new technology required to film performance capture scenes underwater, a feat never accomplished before, led to significant delays to allow the crew more time to work on the writing, pre-production, and visual effects. The film started shooting simultaneously with Avatar: The Way of Water in New Zealand on September 25, 2017. Filming completed in late December 2020, after over three years of shooting. With an estimated production budget of at least $350 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.

Avatar: Fire and Ash had its world premiere at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, on December 1, 2025, and was released in the United States on December 19 by 20th Century Studios. Critical response was generally positive, with praise for the visual effects and spectacle, but criticism for repeating the narrative beats of its predecessors. It grossed $1.474 billion, becoming the third-highest grossing film of 2025, but also the lowest-grossing film of the series. Named among the top ten films of 2025 by the American Film Institute and the National Board of Review, it received two Academy Award nominations (Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects) and two Golden Globe nominations, and has two planned sequels (Avatar 4 and Avatar 5), production of which is dependent on the box-office performance of Fire and Ash.

Plot

Shortly after settling in with the Metkayina, Jake Sully and his family grieve over Neteyam's death. Neytiri has developed hatred toward humans. When a fleet of flying merchant ships arrive, Jake and Neytiri decide Spider must leave the Metkayina and return to the human scientist camp, but that the family will accompany him for the trip.

The ship convoy is ambushed by the volcano-dwelling and warmongering Mangkwan, an aggressive Na'vi tribe who reject Eywa. Led by their matriarch Varang, the Mangkwan set fire to the ships, looting them and killing many. The family is separated. Colonel Miles Quaritch and Corporal Lyle Wainfleet find Jake, and they reluctantly work together to find Spider. Spider's oxygen mask loses power, and he collapses from asphyxiation. Out of sheer desperation, Kiri connects her queue to the ground and goes into a trance. After his body is infused with mycelia, Spider gains the ability to breathe Pandora's atmosphere.

Eventually, the children are trapped by the Mangkwan. Quaritch and Jake arrive but are captured, and Quaritch teaches Varang how to use guns. Kiri commands the flora to kill their guards, enabling their escape. After examining Spider, Norm Spellman and Max Patel discover an organism inside his body, which they realize could be reverse engineered to allow every human to breathe on Pandora. He has also grown a neural queue on his head, allowing him to connect to Pandoran fauna like the Na'vi. Kiri learns that she was sired by Eywa, but is blocked from connecting with her. Quaritch travels to the Mangkwan's village, bringing them supplies of firearms and flamethrowers. He convinces them to form an alliance, entering a romantic relationship with Varang.

Kiri helps Spider explore his new-found abilities with the wildlife, as they share a kiss. However, the two are ambushed and Spider is taken by Quaritch after luring them away from Kiri. Quaritch invades the Metkayina village with the Mangkwan, demanding Jake. Jake surrenders himself to avoid war, and he and Spider are taken to the RDA base, Bridgehead City, where the Mangkwan now reside. Looking for Payakan, Lo'ak is attacked by a group of squid; he is rescued by Tulkun whales. Hundreds of Tulkun congregate annually; human hunters want to kill them for profit. RDA biologist Ian Garvin opposes the hunt, but he is ignored.

Spider undergoes testing by RDA scientists, while Jake is scheduled to be executed. Neytiri infiltrates the base, and Ian steals a bulldozer to free Jake. Spider escapes the RDA laboratories, and knowing they cannot afford to kill him, acts as a human shield to protect the couple as they escape. After fleeing, the couple argues over Spider's liability to human conquest of Pandora. Jake regretfully prepares to kill Spider, but stops at the last moment; a remorseful Neytiri finally accepts Spider as part of the family.

At the Metkayina village, the Tulkun council hear Jake's warning of an expected massacre, but decide not to change their pacifist ways. Lo'ak brings Payakan and Tan'ok, the disfigured sole survivor of a human attack on Payakan's pod, and the Tulkun elders reconsider. Jake re-bonds with the apex predator Toruk and rallies the Na'vi clans to battle. The next day, as the RDA fleet arrives for the hunt, the Tulkun and Na'vi ambush them. The Mangkwan and Quaritch suddenly attack, inflicting heavy casualties. Metkayina matriarch Ronal is mortally wounded and dies in childbirth, with Neytiri taking her baby, Pril, but she is captured and taken to the RDA flagship.

With Spider and Tuk's help, Kiri finally communicates with Eywa and pleads for help; the Pandoran wildlife ambushes the rest of the RDA forces in response, saving the cornered Tulkun. Varang tries to kill Neytiri, but is repelled by Kiri. Jake's Toruk destroys the RDA flagship in a magnetic flux, killing General Ardmore. Jake and Quaritch are thrown into the flux and fight once again, with Spider following. Their fight is interrupted when Spider falls off a floating rock, forcing them to work together and save him. When Neytiri and her children arrive, Quaritch throws himself off the rock.

After the battle, Spider and the Metkayina clan members connect to the underwater spirit trees, where he meets all the deceased Na'vi. Kiri introduces Spider to her mother, Grace, and they initiate him into the Na'vi people.