While Avatar 3 is likely to bring back Eywa, the sequel must clarify one Avatar: The Way of Water death plot hole in the process. The Avatar franchise has a detailed, complex fictional universe, but the movies only allow viewers a glimpse of this immersive world. Even though both Avatar and its first sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, were criticized for their lengthy runtimes and relaxed pacing, the movies just scratched the surface of the world developed by James Cameron and his creative collaborators. This approach could become an issue with the third movie in the series.
The upcoming Avatar 3 will bring back many of the franchise’s central characters, including Avatar stars Jake, Neytiri, Quaritch, as well as Avatar: The Way of Water newcomers like Kiri, Lo’ak, and Spider. However, one character who is unlikely to return is Neteyam. Jake’s son died during the climax of the sequel, meaning he can’t appear in Avatar 3. At least, that is what viewers might reasonably assume. However, Avatar: The Way of Water complicated one major element of Avatar’s lore. This might contradict Neteyam’s death and complicate the franchise’s approach to character deaths going forward.
Avatar: All 20 Na’vi Clans Explained (Cultures, Locations & Inspirations)
While the first Avatar movie focused primarily on the Omaticaya, the Avatar franchise has explored many more Na’vi Clans in the sequels and tie-ins.
Avatar 3 Must Confirm The Extent Of Eywa’s Spiritual Powers Over The Dead
The Way of Water’s sequel ends to clarify Eywa’s powers and limitations
The Na’vi can seemingly commune with their death via Eywa, Pandora’s sacred tree of life. However, this poses a problem for the series. In Avatar: The Way of Water’s ending, Jake links up with Eywa’s Pandoran Neural Network and speaks to Neteyam’s spirit by revisiting a cherished memory of fishing with his young son. This sequence makes it seem like Jake can only visit existing memories he has of Neteyam, but it is complicated by a scene earlier in the movie. Kiri, whose mother is the late human scientist, Grace, links up to Eywa and talks to her mother.
Although Kiri’s communication with Grace is cut short when she suffers some sort of mysterious seizure, Avatar: The Way of Water still makes it clear that she is talking to a sentient, independent version of her mother. Kiri’s conversation with Grace isn’t merely a projection or a memory but rather a two-sided dialogue with a person who, for all intents and purposes, is alive. Thus, if the Avatar franchise’s Na’vi can just connect to their shared neural network and speak to their dead at any time, then these dead characters are not functionally dead. This could become an issue in future movies.
Avatar 2 Made Death Less Of A Big Deal Before Avatar 3
Avatar 3’s deaths will be less impactful if Eywa can effectively undo them
If Eywa is always available to bring back Pandora’s dead (albeit temporarily), then Jake could talk to Neteyam, Kiri could talk to Grace, and death itself wouldn’t be that big a deal in the franchise’s universe. This issue became even more obvious when one of the creators of the series clarified Eywa’s powers when speaking at a convention. During a Q+A at OmatiCon 2024, Joshua Izzo stated:
This is strange since it means Grace and Neteyam can react to news in real time but won’t be able to remember anything from one visit to the next. While that might be irritating, it does mean that the versions of these characters that Jake and Kiri talk to are their real selves, not merely memories. While Avatar 3’s story promises Na’vi villains and fire clans, the sequel must also make time to address this issue. If Eywa’s powers remain this substantial, the death of Na’vi or heroic human characters will never pack a punch in subsequent sequels.
Avatar 4 & 5 Need Higher Stakes (Which Means Characters Stay Dead)
Avatar’s sequels can’t bring back every dead character as the franchise continues
One way for the Avatar franchise to get around this would be for the villains to target Eywa specifically. Viewers already know that Earth will be a setting in Avatar 5, meaning the entire Pandoran Neural Network may end up devastated by human invasions. This could suggest that the Metkayina’s Spirit Tree, the Tree of Souls, and every other connection to Eywa’s Neural Network could be destroyed. In turn, this would cut off the connection between Na’vi and their dead, as would the army simply decimating Pandora itself. However, the direction potentially makes another Avatar 3 plot harder to conclude in the sequels.
Avatar: The Way of Water already implies that Avatar 3’s story will make Kiri a more important character since she displays some unexplained powers in the sequel. However, if talking to Grace is the only way for Kiri to understand what she is and what her powers are, then the RDA’s attempts to destroy the tree will be doubly impactful in Avatar 3. Kiri could be pivotal to the Na’vi’s attempts to resist human occupation, but Avatar 3’s heroine might lose her only link to her past if Eywa is destroyed after Avatar: The Way of Water.
Avatar 3
- Release Date
- December 19, 2025
- Director
- James Cameron
- Cast
- Zoe Saldana , Sigourney Weaver , Sam Worthington , Stephen Lang
- Writers
- Josh Friedman , James Cameron
- Studio(s)
- 20th Century
- prequel(s)
- Avatar , Avatar: The Way of Water
- Franchise(s)
- Avatar
