Let’s guess about the origin of the fire tribe in the upcoming Avatar 3.
The movie Avatar: The Way of Water has set numerous world records to date, including being the fastest 2022 movie to reach US$1 billion in revenue. This success directly reflects the huge fan interest in director James Cameron’s Avatar franchise.
Interestingly, Cameron has released some new information about the upcoming Avatar 3 movie, which involves the Na’vi Fire tribe. How does this new tribe look and who exactly is it? Let’s explore the clues and theories.
Ash People, the Fire Tribe in Avatar 3
As we know, Avatar The Way of Water introduced a new Na’vi tribe in the ocean of Pandora, the Metkayina. Although they are strong and full of resistance spirit like the Omaticaya jungle tribe in the first movie, the Metkayina are basically a kind-hearted Na’vi tribe.
Jake and the Tonowari tribal leaders began to take the fight to the humans from the RDA when their village was truly threatened. On the other hand, the fire Na’vi tribe that will appear in Avatar 3 will reportedly be more aggressive than the Metkayina.
After the launch of the movie The Way of Water, Cameron spoke in an interview with 20 Minutes magazine. He revealed that Avatar 3 will introduce the Na’vi tribe who have a close relationship with fire, or what we can call the ‘Ash people’.
“I wanted to reveal the Na’vi [life] from another perspective. In the first two movies there were very negative human examples and very positive Navi examples. In Avatar 3 we’re going to do the opposite,”
Cameron said
Based on Cameron’s direction, in the upcoming Avatar 3, the fire tribe might be shown as a more evil entity than humans, who do not hesitate to attack other Na’vi. Although Cameron didn’t go into further detail, there is potential that the fire tribe members will have similar traits to Neytiri.
As we know, Neytiri has a very strong hatred for the humans occupying Pandora. However, the difference is that with the Ash People, no one can calm them down, just like Jake used to do with his wife, Neytiri.
Ash People, Na’vi from the Mountain of Fire?
But Jon Landau, the producer of Avatar, also gave a sneak peek at the Ash People in his interview with Empire. According to Landau, the Ash People are an aggressive volcanic race. The tribe has a leader named Varang (Oona Chaplin).
Landau explains further, “There are good people and there are bad people. That applies to the Na’vi as well. Often, people do not consider themselves bad. What caused them to develop into what we consider bad? There may be other factors there that we’re not aware of.” And from what Landau revealed, he confirmed that the Ash People will be the antagonists in Avatar 3.
Based on this information, the fire tribe will have a special relationship with the volcano. This is similar to the Metkayina tribe’s relationship with the sea and the Omaticaya tribe’s relationship with the forest.
From there, it reveals a theory that could make Pandora’s fire tribe seem more terrifying than the other Na’vi tribes. One possibility is due to the culture and outlook of the tribe, which often performs ritual sacrifices to volcanoes.
Basically, the Ash People are no different from the other Na’vi tribes who revere Eywa. However, the difference is, to avoid the wrath of Eywa who has been guiding them, the Ash People chose the human settlers on Pandora as the target of their rituals.
They would capture some humans on Pandora and throw them into the volcano. This made the Na’vi tribe seem even scarier than the RDA humans.
Kiri gets to know the dark side of Ash People
In the movie Avatar The Way of Water, we got to know a character named Kiri. Kiri is an adopted child of Jake and Neyiri who is able to communicate directly with Eywa.
If this allegation about the Ash People is proven, Kiri could be the first person to reveal the bad side of the fire tribe in Avatar 3. Kiri realizes that the actions taken by the Ash People are not liked by Eywa and can even make her angry.
This situation will likely lead to conflict between the Ash People and the Metkayina, the Na’vi tribe that protects Kiri and her family. That’s the discussion about the theory of the Ash People, the Fire Tribe in Avatar 3.
By changing the position between the RDA humans and the Na’vi tribe in the third movie, it could at least give a new feel to the Avatar franchise, making it less monotonous and predictable. Especially for Jake and Neytiri, it will make them reconsider that not all humans are bad and not all Na’vi are good.
Let’s just wait to see what the real facts are. Currently, Avatar 3 is scheduled to be released on December 19, 2025.
