Green Na’vi In Avatar 2? Why Cameron Makes One Big Pandora Change

The trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water reveals a green Na’vi, and there is likely a reason behind the difference. The story of the Avatar sequel continues from the first movie, following Jake Sully and Neytiri as they head into regions of Pandora that were left unexplored during the events of the 2009 original. Therefore, the trailer for Avatar 2 reveals some new environments and characters that weren’t seen in the previous installment.

The first Avatar was primarily focused on the Na’vi and their struggle against the humans exploiting Pandora’s natural resources, but Avatar 2‘s story already promises to be a much deeper and more complex affair. The first trailer for Avatar 2 shares relatively little about its narrative thrust, but one of the most significant changes to the depiction of the Na’vi is the inclusion of characters who are distinctly more green-skinned than the blue characters featured in the original.

The exact reason for the introduction of green-skinned Na’vi isn’t clear, but it’s likely linked to Avatar 2‘s Metkayina tribe. As The Way of Water sees Jake, Neytiri, and their family travel to Pandora’s coast to join forces with the Metkayina, this new geographical location is sure to feature diverse new characters and creatures. As the Metkayina tribe is more aquatic than the original Avatar‘s Omaticaya tribe, it seems that the change in characterization is most likely linked to the story change.

There is no reason to believe that all Na’vi’s skin is distinctly blue. As Avatar only explored a portion of Pandora, it’s entirely possible for other Na’vi characters to vary in appearance, and the idea of green-skinned Na’vi isn’t too far removed from the blue-skinned characters already introduced. The most likely reason for the change is that it makes characters from the two different tribes easier to tell apart at a glance, something which will undoubtedly be necessary for a film as sweepingly epic as the Avatar sequel promises to be.

As Avatar 2 is set long enough after Avatar for Jake and Neytiri to have started a family, it’s also possible that the green-skinned characters could be linked to human intervention on Pandora. These Na’vi may have been affected somehow by the humans’ impact on Pandora’s environment and this will serve an important purpose within the movie’s narrative. However, there’s little evidence of this idea within the trailer or the brief synopsis released for Avatar 2, making it unclear exactly what the nature of the green-skinned Na’vi really is.

It seems that the reasons behind the change will remain secret until the Avatar sequel releases in December. As the movie is set to introduce new ideas and new characters to the franchise — including Kate Winslet as a Na’vi character and Jake and Neytiri’s human son — it’s something that Avatar 2 will surely explore. Whether the idea behind the green-skinned Na’vi is related to Avatar: The Way of Water‘s plot or a simple matter of immersive world-building remains to be seen, but it’s almost a certainty that the reason behind the intriguing change will be explored within the film.