Jake Sully and the gang are back, and this time, they’re straight fire… and ash. With his latest dispatch from the far reaches of Pandora, director James Cameron is pulling the Sully clan out of the pool and tossing them in the fire, showing a different and much more flamable side of his fantasy world. The trailer for Avatar: Fire And Ash delivers plenty of both, as well as new creatures, characters, and beautiful views of his digital paradise. The film formerly known as Avatar: The Seed Bearer may no longer bear seeds, but it does show off a very different and equally impressive side of the fantastic planet.
Arriving before anyone can say that The Way Of Water had no cultural impact, the Fire And Ash trailer introduces audiences to the Mangkwan Clan, also known as the Ash People, who live in Ash Village on the side of a volcano. Led by Varang (Oona Chaplin), an Ash Na’vi in a red and black headdress, the Ash People go to war with Pandora’s Forest and Water tribes. Sadly for our old friends, Varang says that their goddess, Eywa, has no dominion here. It’s all the better for Stephen Lang’s Quaritch, whose warships are on the hunt for the elusive unobtanium once again. But hey, Spider (Jack Champion) is back. Isn’t it nice to see our boy raised by Na’vi once again?
We could spend all day discussing the series lore, marveling about those jellyfish hot air balloons, the preferred method of travel for the nomadic Wind Trader tribe. There are also brief glimpses of Tulkun. Will Payakun appear in the film? Inquiring minds want answers. Still, we know people want to look at the pretty pictures, and who could blame them? The trailer continues to utilize 3-D in ways that others have given up on. James Cameron has not. 25 years into his bizarre and immensely profitable venture, he shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, he’s getting faster.
