How’s this for a logline? In relation to the third movie in James Cameron‘s huge “Avatar” franchise, “Avatar: Hearth and Ash,” Disney will solely share that this new installment “takes audiences again to Pandora in an immersive new journey with Marine turned Na’vi chief Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Na’vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the Sully household.” That’s all assumed, proper? And, for now, that’s about as a lot plot as we’re going to get within the “Hearth and Ash” realm.
The movie’s first trailer? It adheres to the identical thought. When Disney confirmed the trailer to a choose group of press final week — earlier than a deliberate rollout alongside “The Unbelievable 4: First Steps,” which opened on Friday, and after a really temporary leak of the primary look earlier this month — the studio generously performed it thrice in a row. Every time, my response was the identical: this seems superb, however what the heck is happening right here?
Prime of thoughts: Who are these new Na’vi we’re going to satisfy? Who’re the so-called Ash individuals aligned with? The place do they stay? What kind of neat animals have they got? And whereas this trailer does give us some attractiveness at this band of Na’vi, together with their sooty village and their fairly fierce chief, the massive questions stay, plus a brand new one: are they really preventing the Sully household and their aquatic Metkayina clan?
The temporary glimpses we get at them trace that, a minimum of throughout sure elements of the movie, they’re certainly preventing the Sully fam, even taking to the skies on their very own be-winged animal friends in service to battle. In January, Cameron advised Empire a bit extra concerning the movie, together with some fairly related notes on the Ash chief, Varang (performed by Oona Chaplin). (You may get a very good have a look at Varang and the Ash village in two idea artwork photos shared above and beneath, offered by Disney.)
“Varang is the chief of a individuals who have gone by an unbelievable hardship. She’s hardened by that. She is going to do something for them, even issues that we’d think about to be evil,” the filmmaker stated. “One factor we wished to do on this movie isn’t be black-and-white simplistic. Or blue-and-pink simplistic. … We’re attempting to evolve past the ‘all people are unhealthy, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm. … She’s an enemy, an adversarial character, however [Chaplin] makes her really feel so actual and alive.” That’s price protecting a watch out for on this first trailer.
At CinemaCon in April, star Saldaña stated on stage that the movie introduces two new clans, the Windtraders (who you’ll be able to see within the prime picture) and the Ash Folks, who’ve forsaken the Na’vi’s deity. A teaser clip shared on the occasion ended with certainly one of these Ash individuals warriors threatening Sigourney Weaver’s character by saying, “Your goddess has no dominion right here,” which can be how this trailer ends. So, no, issues don’t sound like they’ve all the time been sunshine and flying dragons for the Ash individuals.
The movie additionally stars Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Jack Champion, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, and Bailey Bass. It was filmed alongside “Avatar: The Means of Water” from 2017 to 2020. Two deliberate (and at the moment untitled) sequels are in varied levels of manufacturing and are anticipated to be launched in 2029 and 2031, respectively.
Walt Disney Photos will launch “Avatar: Hearth and Ash” in theaters on Friday, December 19. Take a look at the movie’s first trailer beneath.