James Cameron’s Avatar franchise only has two entries so far, but it’s still one of the most successful film franchises in the past two decades. Now, fans are looking forward to Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film, which will release in late 2025. While some might be worried that it’s “more of the same,” Cameron is already promising changes that will shift the franchise for the better.

Something that Cameron is already promising is that Avatar 3 will have more nuance with its plot and characters. This addresses a major complaint about the first two movies, but these narrative elements might have helped those films, too. In fact, it all feels like a reaction to another franchise somewhat stealing Avatar‘s thematic thunder.

Avatar 3 Won’t Be as Black and White

There’s still a lot that fans don’t know yet about Avatar: Fire and Ash’s storyline, which will release three years after the second movie, Avatar: The Way of Water. The gap in between the films is much smaller than the span of time between the first two movies in the franchise, but the name alone is cause for some concern. Many have joked that the only thing it will change is the “element” involved with the new tribe, similar to how the second film repeated a lot of the first, but with a water tribe. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case, both from a narrative standpoint and a thematic one.

The new “Ash tribe” is a group of Na’vi who aren’t quite as noble as the groups that Jake Sully has encountered so far. For one thing, they’ll be portrayed in an antagonistic light, and this will even see them working with the human group known as the RDA. In an interview with Empire, James Cameron noted that he wants to move the series beyond its black-and-white dynamic. Per the director, he’s trying to “to evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm.” This is a definitely a relief, as this sharply binary world-building was a big detriment for critics of the first two movies.

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The change in moral scope and worldview will happen as the series enters its middle section, with the fifth and final Avatar movie coming out in 2031. By the time the series ends, there will likely be much more nuance and depth for all parties involved, with humanity not shown in an entirely negative light, while the Na’vi are also far less pedestalized. This is what’s needed for any sort of long-form storytelling in this vein, but in all these narrative elements should have been there from the get-go.

The Avatar Series Prioritizes Special Effects Over Nuanced Storytelling

Ever since the first movie came out in 2009, James Cameron’s Avatar series has been lauded for its incredible and immersive special effects. Even critics of the films note that the CGI in the series is impressive, putting other major blockbusters to shame. Unfortunately, this has mostly been the only thing that’s really set the series apart from other properties, with special effects being the main draw. The story and characters aren’t bad by any means, but they’re very rote and generic in some respects.

Moviegoers have compared the series to animated films such as Fern Gully and Disney’s Pocahontas, even noting uncredited similarities with the science fiction novelette Call Me Joe. Unfortunately, the movies have done little to truly go beyond these similarities and explore their themes in more depth. The plot is really just a retread of numerous harmful tropes surrounding indigenous nations. This would be a lot more palatable if the series hadn’t been such a blockbuster success. In the 10+ years since the release of the first Avatar, impressive CGI has become more common in major movies.

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Given how ubiquitous it is, it’s a lot less of a veritable Band-Aid when the other elements of a movie aren’t up to par. Likewise, for a series that seems to pride itself on being “topical” alongside having great special effects, it offers a shallow treatment of its themes. The moral and ethical nuances that are planned for the third Avatar movie could have easily been more present in the first two.

While it makes some sense to have such a course correction in the middle of the story, this all hinged on the first two movies being enough of a success to justify further sequels. That, of course, ended up being the case, but it’s hard to justify the lack of real depth so far in a series that — at least when looking at the director — pats itself on the back for its own existence.

Dune Is What Avatar Wishes It Was

In the past four years, moviegoers have rediscovered a science fiction classic by way of a new adaptation that has pushed the brand to the forefront like never before. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune series is the most popular adaptation of the Frank Herbert novels, with Dune: Part Two seeing massive success in 2024. The movie was one of the most hyped films of the year and received rave reviews. While it changed some elements from the source material, it was overall beloved by fans and critics, and seen as even better than the first part.

Similarly, the duology was a major improvement over the David Lynch Dune movie from 1984. Its themes felt more topical than when the book came out decades before, and it’s seen by some as potentially reinvigorating science fiction in the same way that HBO’s Game of Thrones did for epic fantasy. Ironically, this success also saw the release of a 2024 television spinoff titled Dune: Prophecy. Loosely adapting elements of the book Sisterhood of Dune, it was very much made in the Game of Thrones vein and is set to receive a second season.

Dealing with the themes of imperialism, colonialism and “going native”, the Dune series is very similar to James Cameron’s Avatar. Some see it as an influence on Avatar in the same way that Call Me Joe likely was, and it wouldn’t be the only series to have such an inspiration. After all, George Lucas’ Star Wars is conceptually a swashbuckling version of Dune, albeit with a much less cynical worldview. The new Dune movies have been huge hits with great special effects, and both were made for less than $200 million USD.

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This was a lot less than the cost of either Avatar movie, but it thematically had much more depth. The Fremen aren’t as cut and dry as the Na’vi, and even “heroes” such as Paul Atreides are much more layered compared to Jake Sully. While the Fremen are victims of colonialism in the same way as the Na’vi, these concepts are portrayed in a way that feels less like a one-dimensional redux of Fern Gully. There’s actually a moral questioning of heroes and messiahs, which is something that Avatar — for all of its progressiveness — completely lacks.

Though the smash hit Dune: Part Two only made over $700 million USD and didn’t sniff the same financial success as Avatar, it showcased the flaws in the latter series. The new Dune movies have similar special effects as Avatar while telling a much better version of the same story, and the fact that Avatar is finally shifting to feature such depth feels a bit too coincidental. The move almost comes off as an artistic fear of the emperor being revealed as a naked fool, all while a comparative “pauper” is adorned much more elegantly.

That’s not to say that Dune will “overtake” Avatar in any way, but the success of the series certainly made the flaws in Cameron’s franchise a lot more apparent. It’s arguable that fans are much more interested in seeing where the upcoming Dune: Messiah adaptation takes the series, compared to Avatar: Fire and Ash doing so for that franchise. This is likely due to how little importance the story had in the success of Avatar, but as even James Cameron is now realizing, that will no longer cut it. Hopefully, the sci-fi franchise adds some extra layers onto its blue skin. If it doesn’t, it certainly has competitors gunning for the throne.

Avatar: Fire and Ash releases in theaters on Dec. 19, 2025.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Release Date

December 19, 2025

Director

James Cameron

Writers

Josh Friedman, James Cameron

Prequel(s)

Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water