James Cameron explains Avatar 3 title: Fire and Ash

“It took me a long time to find this title,” says the director. But why Fire and Ashes?

After Water (in 2022), Fire (in 2025). Disney announced a few days ago thatAvatar 3 will be officially called Avatar: Fire and Ash (in French Fire and Ashes).

“It took me a long time to find this title that I think resonates with what’s in the film”explain James Cameron to Entertainment Weekly, on the sidelines of D23. The filmmaker then deciphers its meaning:

“I don't want to give too much away up front, but you think of Fire as a symbol of hate, anger, violence, that kind of thing. And Ashes are the consequences. What are the consequences? Grief, mourning? And then what does that cause for the future? More violence, more anger, more hate. It's a vicious cycle. So that's what's in that title.”

James Cameron half-heartedly mentions the death of Jake's son, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), at the end ofAvatar 2. But he tempers it in the process: “I wouldn't call it Avatar 3 dark movie. I think it deals with darker themes than the previous ones, but it's still an open, glorious, grand adventure, which is what we always strive for. That being said, we're not afraid to go into the dark corners of our characters, which is also a good thing. That's also what people really feel when they get to know a character well, whether it's through a series or something else: they want to know more. They want to know more about them, find out what their limits are, so to speak. And we're going to explore that…”

There is also a more literal explanation behind the title Avatar: Fire and Ashsince we will meet another people of Pandora, the people of Ash, dominated by Varang (played by Oona Chaplin), a “aggressive and volcanic Na'vi race” producer Jon Landau said last year. “IThere are good humans and bad humans. It's the same with the Na'vi.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash will be released in theaters on December 19, 2025, whileAvatar 4 is scheduled for four years later, on December 21, 2029, and Avatar 5 is scheduled two years later, on December 19, 2031.