Fire and Ash’ After Audiences Saw ‘Way of Water’

“after [Avatar: The] water way James Cameron recently told io9, “After it came out, I started reevaluating and changing things a little bit to respond to audience feedback. ‘What are they interested in? What parts of it are they interested in? I also wrote some new scenes, and we went back, and we reworked some things.’

Cameron spoke to us about this a few weeks ago, saying Avatar: Fire and AshesWhich is in theaters now. This was an interesting point with an important piece of information missing. What specifically did they change after seeing audience reaction? Water way?

Well, in a new interview with The Wrap, Cameron answered that question. And our speculations were right on the money for one thing. He added more of the space whale Pyakan because the audience liked him so much. Cameron said, “Pyakan as a character got such a strong emotional response that I had to play him in film three.” “If a breakout star emerges from a movie, you’ll create that role in the next movie.”

In addition to strengthening Payakan, Cameron also changed a key moment between Jake Sully and his new water tribe, the Metakayina.

“In the original script, he asked the question [whether or not they want to use guns] three times, [and] They ultimately answer in the affirmative, because they have to defend Tulkun,” Cameron said. “And I thought it was important to say, ‘Okay, you can be a pacifist, but at some point, there are things that are worth fighting for.'”

But this perception changed after the film was released, partly due to the Uvalde school shooting in 2022.

“I did not want to glorify or promote an assault weapon,” Cameron said. “Now I’m a little stuck, because I’ve got a character who defines himself as a marine. And the nature of a marine is a marine and his rifle is the most powerful weapon in the world. That’s the way they think. And so I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll just keep it very similar to Jake and his way of doing things, but I’m not going to let him corrupt the way the Na’vi are and their value system.’ These are things that continued.”

Since Jake was not arming Metkayna, however, Cameron also moved the expected reunion between Jake and Toruk, the giant, dragon-like creature he befriends in the first film. He was supposed to appear in a later film, but Cameron moved it forward so that the Na’vi could have additional firepower against humans. “It was an immediate adjustment,” Cameron said.

Avatar: Fire and Ashes Now in theatres. Check back on Monday, December 22 for our full, spoiler-filled breakdown.

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