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Avatar: 5 things to know about the cult saga
James Cameron’s feature Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) is finally hitting theaters this Wednesday, December 17th. Throwback to the secrets and reasons behind the success of this iconic sci-fi saga.
By Violaine Schütz,
and The Editorial Team.
The first Avatar was a massive box-office hit
Avatar (2009), the breathtaking ecological manifesto, is one of the most expensive films in the history of cinema and an unparalleled visual show. Released in 2009, the science fiction feature directed by James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator, Aliens) takes us to the year 2154, when a paraplegic ex-Marine is sent to the planet Pandora to infiltrate the Na’vi, a native population living there. The Avatar program allows him to take on their appearance in order to gather intelligence about a valuable mineral…
Upon its release, the film shattered box office records, drawing nearly 284 million viewers and grossing close to 3 billion dollars. This technological gem also marked a cinematic revolution. Avatar was the first major production to be widely shown in 3D and showcased the full potential of performance capture – a videographic technique used to record the movements of living beings or objects in space and translate them into computer-generated imagery or effects.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Gx8wiNbs8The first teaser of Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).
A remastered version at the heart of a misunderstanding
Fans of Avatar had to wait thirteen years before discovering the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, released in 2022. In the meantime, Disney announced the release of a remastered version… of the first opus. A familiar move for James Cameron, who had already released Titanic 3D (2012), fifteen years after the original blockbuster. The goal? To create excitement around the saga and reinforce the idea that Avatar is, and always will be, an experience designed for the big screen above all. Released in theaters in 2022, this 2.0 version was praised by critics, but also caused confusion among audiences… Some people no longer knew which film they were actually seeing.
“I called my mom to go see Avatar 2 at the cinema. Twitter just saved me from the scam of the century!” On social media, many viewers complained about the lack of clear information surrounding the screenings of Avatar. Indeed, they had mistaken the remastered version released in September for the sequel, which wasn’t scheduled for release until December.
In the darkness of the cinema, staring at the screen, they realized their mistake way too late. “I went to the movies to see Avatar 2, and it took me thirty minutes to realise it was the first one!” one person complained on Twitter. “During my IMAX 3D screening of Avatar, I saw people storm out of the theater, furious. They thought it was Avatar 2 and were asking for refunds.”
A saga tackling universal themes
How can we explain the phenomenal success of the saga? At a press conference for the promotion of Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), held at the Hôtel Bristol in Paris in December 2025, which Numéro attended, James Cameron explained: “When I’m writing and imagining the story, I want to deal with things that are universal to the human experience. Family, identity, purpose, duty to your family, to the community. Where do I belong to? And once I’ve decided where I belong, how do I earn the respect of others? These are fundamental problems that people feel all around the world.”
The Canadian-New Zealander director, 71, then added: “With the new film, we’re dealing with a refugee family, essentially displaced immigrants. With the Avatar films, we’re always trying to deal with very human and relatable themes, because it grounds this experience that takes place in this other fantastic world, and puts it in ways that are relatable.”
“It’s a film about grief, loss, and trauma.” – James Cameron
Among the main themes is, of course, the environment. But not only. “It’s a film about grief (Jake Sully and Neytiri’s family mourn the death of Neteyam, ed.), loss, trauma. And it’s a film about how we heal, move forward, carry our burden, and keep walking, breaking the cycle of violence born of the hatred that stems from that loss. That’s what we see happening in the world today,” James Cameron explains.
At that same press conference, actor Sam Worthington, who plays one of the film’s protagonists, added that this is “a franchise like no other,” a “unique blockbuster, very deep, very emotional, filled with important themes.”
Miley Cyrus wrote a song for Avatar: Fire And Ash
In addition to the return of Sigourney Weaver (Kiri Sully), Zoe Saldana (Neytiri), and Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), one of the exciting surprises about the third installment is the epic song composed by singer Miley Cyrus for the soundtrack of Avatar: Fire And Ash. Unveiled in November 2025, it is titled Dream as One.
“Having been personally affected by fire and being rebuilt from the ashes, this project holds profound meaning for me,” the star posted on her Instagram account. She was referring to the wildfire that destroyed her Malibu home in 2018. “Thank you, Jim, for the opportunity to turn that experience into musical medicine. The film’s themes of unity, healing and love resonate deeply within my soul,” the star added.
After Avatar 3, a Disney+ series?
In March 2023, rumors also emerged about a director’s cut of Avatar 3 by James Cameron that could run nearly nine hours. To watch this version, whose theatrical cut is expected to be around three hours, viewers might have to turn to the platform Disney+, which could release it as a miniseries.
In fact, it was a theory promoted by influential American film journalist Jeff Sneider on his X account (formerly Twitter) in March 2023: “RUMOR: Remember that 9-hour cut of AVATAR 3 that I told you James Cameron was insisting on having finished VFX for? I hear it could hit Disney+ as a limited series AFTER the theatrical cut of the film…”
In the meantime, a series titled Avatar: The Last Airbender was released on Netflix in 2024. However, it had nothing to do with James Cameron. Thankfully, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 are expected to hit theaters in December 2029 and December 2031, respectively.
Avatar: Fire And Ash, directed by James Cameron, coming out in theatres on December 17th, 2025.
