James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash will continue the story of Jake Sully and his family, with the group now facing the threat of the Ash people. Other than the introduction of a new clan, there's another change for the third movie in that Jake will not be the narrator. As surprising as that is to me, I get Cameron’s explanation for shifting away from Jake’s perspective.
In the first two Avatar movies, Jake Sully, as the franchise’s narrator, gives viewers insight into his thoughts about Pandora and the Na’vi before becoming one of them. For Fire and Ash, on the other hand, director James Cameron revealed to Fandango that the narrator role has been passed down to Jake’s son, Lo’ak. Based on the comments Cameron shared, he seemed to put a lot of thought into this decision:
He’s a beautiful narrator. There’s something very soulful in [Britain Dalton’s] voice. And I wanted to see the other side of the dynamic with Jake. So sometimes you can learn more about a character from how other people see him. So Lo’ak is talking about his father, and I think you learn a lot about Jake from that. And you also see how much Lo’ak is like Jake, maybe too much like Jake.
This may be a big change compared to the previous two movies, but I agree with James Cameron that it’s the right one. Lo’ak was one of the best characters introduced in The Way of Water, and his story arc in that film is quite compelling. As Cameron alludes to, the young Na'vi also carries Jake’s impulsiveness and always wants to do the right thing, even if that involves a little rebellion on his part.
Lo’ak and Jake’s shared personality traits make their relationship very complicated. While Lo’ak wants to make his dad proud by being a leader like him, Jake, as a father, wants to put his son’s safety first. I'm eager to learn Lo’ak’s thoughts about his own father and the constant push-and-pull he must feel trying to seek his admiration.
What I'm also intrigued to learn from Lo'ak in the 2025 movie release is how he's dealing with the death of his older brother, Neteyam. At the end of The Way of Water, Lo’ak insisted on returning to the RDA vessel to save his brother-figure, Spider, and the protective Neteyam followed him. Sadly, the older Sully sibling was fatally shot during their escape. Given the shift in narrator, viewers could get a keen look into Lo’ak’s mental state after that devastating loss and see if he has regrets.
Though it's hard to imagine an Avatar movie not narrated by Jake, I appreciate James Cameron passing the torch to Lo’ak and providing a fresh perspective in Fire and Ash. I think there’s a good chance that this film could put Lo'ak into a position to become an even bigger character in the series moving forward. And I'd love to see that happen.
Avatar: Fire and Ash, one of the most highly anticipated upcoming action movies of the year, hits theaters on December 19th. Until then, revisit the previous Avatar films using a Disney+ subscription.
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