Na’vi Space Battle Cut From Avatar 2: Details Revealed By Writer

Avatar: The Way of Water writer, Rick Jaffa, recently explained that a space battle was cut from the film’s script. Set 14 years after the Na’vi took down the Resources Development Administration (RDA) in Avatar, the fantasy adventure sequel follows Jake Sully (Worthington) and his Na’vi wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) as they fight to protect their family and home from a new threat. The RDA returns with a recombinant Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), in a grown Na’vi body with the cloned mind of the soldier. He leads an elite squad of soldiers into Pandora with the sole purpose of eliminating Jake.

With Avatar: The Way of Water nearing $2 billion at the box office, Jaffa speaks to EW and recalls a cut scene that saw Jake and Neytiri battling in space. According to the writer, the scene was popular with writer-director James Cameron who went off and wrote an entire script with that scene included. Although well-received, the entirety of the scene, as well as the script, was scrapped as it was incongruous with their intended narrative. However, the story was given new life as a comic book titled Avatar: The High Ground which features Jake and Neytiri in space. Read what Jaffa said below:

“There was one idea of a space battle with Na’vi. That idea got a lot of traction, and we talked a lot about it. We were struggling, though. How would that work with the story that we’re telling? Jim said, ‘Well, give me a few weeks.’ He went off and he wrote an entire script. And, by the way, a brilliant script.”

“At the end of the day, the whole script got thrown out because it just didn’t really work with the story we were telling.”

Where Will the Avatar Franchise Go Next?

With Cameron recently announcing Avatar: Way of the Water‘s profitability after it made $1.5 billion at the box office, the director confirmed that the planned sequels will be made. Cameron and 20th Century Studios are set to produce four sequels to 2009’s Avatar. Beginning with Avatar: Way of the Water in 2022, each sequel will release two years after its predecessor with Avatar 5 premiering in 2028.

As with Avatar: The Way of the Water, the upcoming films will showcase parts of Pandora that have yet to be depicted on screen. Cameron recently teased various new cultures of the Na’vi to include a group called the Ash People. The director explained that this new tribe will differ greatly from the Omaticaya Na’vi of the forest as depicted in Avatar and the Metkayina Na’vi of the sea as seen in Avatar: Way of the Water. Where the two previous tribes show positive traits of the Na’vi, the Ash People will be the opposite, showcasing a darker Na’vi.

Avatar producer Jon Landau also teased that Jake, Neytiri, and their family will eventually leave Pandora and travel to Earth. Although Landau appeared to walk back his comments regarding the Na’vi family’s expedition to our planet, his comments pushed speculation and hype for the upcoming sequels to an all-time high. With Avatar: The Way of Water still performing well in theaters, and its sequel due to release next year, audiences must be patient to see where Cameron and his team of writers take the Sully family.