Credit: 20th Century StudiosThe third Avatar seems more and more familiar…
James Cameron’s box office baby, Avatar (2009), and subsequent followup Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) have contributed significantly to modern cinema. The visual effects represented in the films are some of the most impressive visuals ever created digitally, and for many, that’s what brings them in. While the stories told have merit, they certainly aren’t what most audiences would call original, and if the concept art for the third film is any indication, they won’t be any time soon.
In the first film, audiences witnessed a military man, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), go on a mission, assimilate with an indigenous population, fall in love with a member of their tribe (Zoë Saldaña), and ultimately fight against the military that sent him. It’s certainly not a bad story; in fact, it’s one that audiences have seen a few times in films like Dances With Wolves (1990), Pocahontas (1995), and even FernGully (1992), in some cases, almost to the exact detail.
Though The Way of Water presented audiences with more stunning visuals, particularly of the water environments in the world of Pandora, much of the plot was, in ways, a bit of a retread. The RDA returned, along with Quatritch (Stephen Lang), and sent a clear environmental message, much like the first film. What was different was the introduction of the water-based tribe of Na’vi, the Metkayina. It was a similar but different culture from the Omatikaya, portrayed in a realistic way within the boundaries of the world established by Cameron, but it does stray into familiar territory once again.
Even before James Cameron introduced his concept for the next installment of the Avatar franchise, fans of another franchise were beginning to point out similarities to another franchise of the same name. Fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender will no doubt see even more similarities once they catch a glimpse of the new concept art released by Disney, teasing the third Avatar, which will explore even more regions of Pandora.
The Direct shared the images, which, as shown, depict three new regions of Pandora, including a volcanic area home to the “ash people,” a desert area, and an arctic, mountainous-looking area home to another group of Na’vi. Much like the other two films, while the images look stunning, they don’t seem all that original. This time, it seems like the threequel is taking direct inspiration from another Avatar.
Related: Next ‘Avatar’ Film Triples Down on Runtime, Rumored to Be Released on Disney+
Fans of The Last Airbender series will no doubt recognize the uncanny similarities between these regions, and the Metkayina, with the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads of the beloved animated franchise. While there aren’t enough similarities to infringe on Intellectual Property/Copyright law, the concepts are similar enough to give many fans pause. What will really make or break the plot of the third Avatar will be if they decide to borrow any other concepts from the beloved animated series…
What do you think about these similarities? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!