In December 2022 the release of the eagerly awaited sequel to James Cameron's sci-fi epic "Avatar 2: The Way of Water", hit the theatres. As it was already known at that time, there won't be just two films, as three more are in production. There is already some information about the cast and plot of part 3 - so it's about time we took a closer look at the movie. In this article, you'll find out everything there is to know so far and a few crazy rumors about the length of the film!

The Avatar 3 Cast

There is already a lot of information about the cast of "Avatar 3". Of course, all sorts of characters from the first two films will return, but some new characters will be introduced as well. James Cameron reported in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the Metkayina clan from the second part will play a role again, albeit a smaller one than in part 2. In detail, he stated:

"Each movie will introduce audiences to new clans and new cultures on Pandora. Once we introduce a character, they will remain part of the ongoing storyline. So you can expect to see the Metkayina clan again in later films. New clans will be added in Avatar 3, which will also appear in Avatar 4 and so on."

The Sully Family

Of course, the Sully family is still the center of the story. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana slip back into their parental roles as Jack Sully and Neytiri. Their children Lo'ak and Tuktirey, played by Britain Dalton and Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, will return as well. Their foster children Kiri and Spider are also back. Kiri is once again played by Sigourney Weaver and Spider by Jack Champion. Particularly Spider can be expected to play a larger role in the new part.

The Villains

The main antagonist is still Colonel Miles Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang. In addition, actor Matt Gerald has announced via Instagram that he will also be returning in his role as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet. In the second Avatar film, he went overboard in a fight and was no longer to be seen. But now we have the certainty that he is still alive. We will also see General Frances Ardmore again, who is portrayed by Edie Falco. Whale hunter Mick Scoresby, scientist Dr. Ian Garvin and Parker Selfridge, played by Giovanni Ribisi, are all back as well.

The Ancient Na'vi

As the Metkayina also appear in the third part, so there is a reunion with other familiar characters, including the chieftain family around Tonowari and Ronal, played by Cliff Curtis and Kate Winslet. Their children Tsireya and Ao'nung are also back, as well as his friend Rotoxo. We will also get to see Neytiri's mother Mo'at again, played once more by CCH Pounder.

The New Faces

Three new faces have been confirmed so far. First up is 'Game of Thrones' star Oona Chaplin: she will play Varang, the leader of the Ash people, a new Na'vi civilization that will be in the focus of the third part. In addition, a Na'vi named Peylak will be played by "Harry Potter" star David Thewlis. It is not yet known which clan this character will belong to.

The scientific side also gets a new addition in "Avatar 3": "Everything Everywhere All at Once" star Michelle Yeoh will slip into the role of Dr. Karina Mogue. We do not know yet, which side she is on.

Payakan, the Tulkan whale from part 2, will also reappear in the sequel. He had bonded with Lo'ak and the two share an intimate relationship. We are definitely excited to see what new animal creatures await us in the third film.

The Avatar 3 Plot

Work on "Avatar 3" is slowly coming to an end and there are already some exciting insights into the plot. Shortly before the release of "Avatar 2", producer Jon Landau shared his thoughts on the sequel in an interview with "Collider". He emphasized that they want to introduce more clans and explore new biomes. These will involve demanding technological requirements, similar to the depiction of the underwater world in part 2. Russell Carpenter, the technical director of filming, also revealed that "Avatar 3" will feature even more underwater scenes.

The Ash People

Director James Cameron revealed some more concrete details in an interview with "20 Minutes France" last December: he announced that the film will introduce a new clan that is very different from the previous Na'vi people. The Ash People are closely linked to the element of fire. Cameron wants to offer a more complex portrayal of the Na'vi and also introduce negative characters among them. In contrast to the previously known clans, the Ash People are a warlike tribe that also engages in conflicts with other Na'vi. Therefore, this will also be the first time we see villains coming from the ranks of the Na'vi. Following on from this, many speculate that Quaritch will vie for favor of the Ash People in order to forge a powerful alliance against the rest of the Na'vi.

The Sully family remains a central part of the story, although the ageing of the child actors should hardly be noticeable thanks to the direct continuation of filming. According to Cameron, the film will also explore "new universes", which raises the question of whether this also includes a world outside of Pandora - including the humans' home planet: Earth.

Kiri as the Central Character of the Avatar Franchise

Many fans are also wondering how things will continue with Kiri. In the second part, she not only felt a connection to her biological mother Grace, but also to Eywa, the living consciousness of the planet. It can therefore be assumed that she will play a particularly important role in the upcoming parts. It is not far-fetched to assume that she will act as a kind of messiah due to her special gift: At the end of "Avatar 2", we already got a taste of this and saw how she can control and steer other living beings, thus saving her family from death.

There is speculation that Kiri even makes her way to earth in some way, although many refer this to the leaked title "The Seed Bearer", which some assign to the third film. It is certainly an interesting idea that Kiri, as a seed bearer and messiah, performs miracles on the dying, distant Earth and humanity therefore returns to its natural roots. However, this may not happen until "Avatar 4" or the final fifth film.

Production

The Theatrical Release of Avatar 3

When the second part of Avatar was released in cinemas, 95% of the filming for the third part had already been completed and the first part of "Avatar 4" was already filmed. The last small scenes will now be reshot in June. However, the actual filming is known to be the smallest part of the megaproject - post-production in particular takes a lot of time to perfect the special effects. This is why the original film release date has been postponed by a whole year: instead of December 2024, "Avatar 3" will now be released in cinemas on December 19, 2025. Fun fact: When the "Avatar" sequels were first mentioned, part 3 was still planned for 2015. This target was obviously narrowly missed. "Avatar 4" is scheduled to follow on December 21, 2029, "Avatar 5" will be released on December 20, 2031 - if everything works out according to plan.

That's How Long The Entire Avatar Project Will Take

Director James Cameron would be 77 years old at this point and would have spent 25 years of his life working on "Avatar" - not including the preparations since the 90s. Incidentally, he plans to become a New Zealand citizen in 2024, having lived in the country for most of the production time of "Avatar". This is where the main special effects company Weta Workshop, which had its big breakthrough in the early 2000s with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is based.

The Length of Avatar 3

We are also eagerly awaiting the final running time of the film. The first part lasted 2 hours and 42 minutes, the second 3 hours and 10 minutes. For a long time, there were rumors that the first cut of the third part would have been 9 hours long. Of course, this does not mean that we will see a cinematic movie that is that long.

Since then, Cameron has cleared up the misunderstanding in an interview with "Temple of Geek": There would only be filmed footage of that length. As "Avatar" is his labour of love, he shoots all the scenes he comes up with - even if he knows that he will have to cut out more than half of them in the end. Even though the previous films are not exactly short, the director finds drastic words for the idea of a 9-hour version: he would rather "shove a shotgun in his mouth".

James Cameron's Avatar Records

When in doubt, you can probably trust that Cameron knows what he is doing - at least when it comes to the success of his films. Over the course of his career, he has set the record for the biggest box office takings of all time several times, even surpassing his own record. Three of the four current top films are produced by him: "Titanic", including all new releases, has brought in over 2.2 billion US dollars. "Avatar" has raised over 2.9 billion dollars at the box office so far and "Avatar 2" currently stands at 2.3 billion dollars. We are curious to see how the third part will be doing in the box office battle.