Avatar: The Way of Water broke box office records much like it’s predecessor, so there’s already anticipation for the next Avatar movie. Despite coming more than a decade after the first Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time, Avatar 2 proved all of James Cameron’s doubters wrong by both being a financial success and receiving acclaim during the 2023 awards season. While Cameron insisted the rest of his panned trilogy would depend on how the first sequel performed, the success of Avatar: The Way of Water cemented the fact that there will be many more adventures on Pandora to come, so Cameron’s long-teased Avatar pentalogy looks to be full steam ahead.
Set in the 22nd century on the planet of Pandora, Avatar followed paraplegic veteran Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), who was given a cloned avatar body (synthesized from the DNA of his deceased twin brother) to infiltrate the Na’vi people on behalf of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). In his new body, Jake became close to the Na’vi people through Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and helps lead them to defeat Quaritch’s forces. Avatar: The Way of Water picks up with Jake and Neytiri’s family on the run from the new forces from Earth, led by Quaritch’s avatar. They seek refuge among the water tribes and learn their ways, vastly expanding the franchise lore in the process. Avatar 2 showed how much more of Pandora there is to explore and gave hints at where the next Avatar movie will go from here.
Avatar: The Seed Bearer – December 20, 2024
Avatar 3 is being shot back-to-back with Avatar 2, and the next Avatar movie currently has a working title of Avatar: The Seed Bearer. A majority of the cast is expected to return, including Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Giovanni Ribisi, and Stephen Lang. The third movie will also see several new cast members joining the franchise, including David Thewlis, Oona Chaplin, and Everything Everywhere All At Once‘s Michelle Yeoh.
No specifics about the Avatar 3 story have been revealed, but the title could contain a hidden plot hint. In the first Avatar film, Quaritch destroyed the Tree of Souls, a sacred tree to the Na’vi. From the Tree of Souls come woodsprites, tiny dandelion-like seeds which hold religious significance for the Na’vi. The Seed Bearer could focus on the Na’vi attempting to rebuild the Tree of Souls, searching for woodsprites across Pandora.
An interesting development for Avatar 3 comes from the introduction of the fire tribe as promised by Cameron. The fire tribe will represent a more villainous faction of the Na’vi which is a very exciting new direction needed for the Avatar movies. Oona Chaplin is also confirmed to play the tribe’s chief and perhaps a villain to rival Quaritch.
Avatar: The Tulkun Rider – December 18, 2026
Avatar 4 will be shot back-to-back with Avatar 5, and is currently set to release in December 2026. The title for Avatar 4 is Avatar: The Tulkun Rider. Again, a majority of the cast is expected to return for this fourth film. The Tulkun were first introduced in Avatar: The Way of Water, playing a big role in the sequel with Lo’ak defriending the Paykan, an exiled Tulkun.
The title for Avatar 4 could be referring to the Paykan, but there is likely more involved as the Tulkun have a deep connection to the water tribe. This would also track with Cameron’s comments hinting at the Water Tribe’s significance throughout the remaining Avatar movies. It has also been suggested by producer John Landau (via Collider) that there will be a time jump in Avatar 4 with reports of some parts of the movie being filmed to avoid the young cast aging too quickly.
Avatar: The Quest for Eywa – December 22, 2028
The fifth and final Avatar film will be Avatar: The Quest for Eywa. Following the release schedule of two years between each Avatar movie, this final Avatar adventure will arrive in December 2028. The title refers to the goddess deity known as Eywa worshipped by the Na’vi and said to be the lifeforce that connects everything on the planet Pandora. This means Avatar 5 could likely deal with Eywa directly, possibly discovering the source of the deity on Pandora.
However, James Cameron gave a big tease for this movie, hinting that it would bring the action to Earth. This could mean several things, from Na’vi refugees being forced to leave Pandora, to an all-out war in Avatar 5 during which the Na’vi invade Earth. While there’s still a considerable wait until the next Avatar movie, there are still a lot of exciting things to come in the future of the franchise in the next five years.