Across the first two Avatar movies, Jake Sully goes through a lot. The protagonist of James Cameron’s sprawling epic sci-fi saga – played by Sam Wor
Across the first two Avatar movies, Jake Sully goes through a lot. The protagonist of James Cameron’s sprawling epic sci-fi saga – played by Sam Worthington – began as a human, no longer able to apply his legs after a war injury; then, he gained the opportunity to hop into a large blue Na’vi body, fell in love with Na’vi warrior Neytiri, fought another war, entered his Na’vi body permanently, raised an entire family of blue kids, fought in another war, and – tragically, in the final reel of Avatar: The Way Of Water – lost his eldest son Neteyam in battle, struck down long before his prime. Now, as Cameron prepares to unleash Avatar: Fire And Ash, Jake is about to face all-new trials.
With the fresh film starting just two weeks after The Way Of Water, Neteyam’s untimely passing remains raw. “Everybody in this movie is reacting from a place of trauma,” Cameron tells Empire, when we join him for two days at Avatar HQ for our major world-exclusive Avatar: Fire And Ash issue. “Everybody. Jake’s processing the death of his son. [Jake and Neytiri’s other son] Lo’ak is processing the death of his brother and his own guilt around that.” As Worthington explains, the more protective side of Jake that we saw in The Way Of Water has been eroded as a result. “The peacemaker that Jake was in 2 has changed, because he’s grieving,” he says. “He doesn’t know how to go forward, and so he goes back to the world that he knows, which is soldiering. To attack, to go to war, that’s a comforting place for Jake.”
Crucially, all that emotional damage threatens one of the strongest cores of the Avatar story: the relationship between Jake and Neytiri. “Because of Neteyam’s death, there is now a division in that relationship,” Worthington teases. “That’s a great design by Jim — how do you split apart the perfect love story? Jake and Neytiri share this painful wound, but they can’t seem to heal each other. So they kind of split, not because they want to, but because they’re just trying to survive within themselves. Jake heads back to battle and Neytiri kind of closes down.” For Cameron, the opulent character drama is what grounds Avatar’s pretty bioluminescent world. “I think if you’re authentic about life and emotion and relationships, it doesn’t matter how crazy your world-building is,” he explains. “I’m on a flying fish — but I believe that flying fish. It’s a pretty fucking good flying fish.”
With our heroes divided, loss in the air, more war looming, and incoming Na’vi villain Varang about to fuel to the flames, get ready for Avatar: Fire And Ash to bring the pain.
Read Empire’s full Avatar: Fire And Ash story – going to Avatar HQ for two days with James Cameron as he works on the film, also featuring fresh cast interviews, never-before-seen images and more – in the September 2025 issue, on sale Thursday 31 July. Pre-order a copy online here. Avatar: Fire And Ash comes to UK cinemas from 19 December.
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