Released in 2009, director James Cameron’s film Avatar became the first movie to officially gross more than $2 billion. Then it took him thirteen years to get a sequel into theatres, so it wasn’t clear if the follow-up was going to be able to replicate that success. But then, sure enough, Avatar: The Way of Water also grossed more than $2 billion, paving the way for not only Avatar 3, or Avatar: Fire and Ash, (which is scheduled to reach theatres on December 19, 2025) but also Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 – which will be released on December 21, 2029 and December 19, 2031, respectively. Empire has been giving Avatar: Fire and Ash extensive coverage in the build-up to the film’s release, and their latest report has unveiled a new image of the characters Quaritch and Spider! You can check it out right here:

Cameron crafted these sequels with a writers room that consisted of Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (who worked on The Way of Water and Fire and Ash), Josh Friedman (who was assigned to write Avatar 4), and Shane Salerno (assigned to write Avatar 5). The cast of Avatar: Fire and Ash includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement, Britain Dalton, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo, Dileep Rao, Matt Gerald, David Thewlis, and Oona Chaplin, who takes on the role of Varang, leader of the antagonistic Ash Clan. Payakan, the space-whale / tulkun, also plays a part in the new sequel.

Stephen Lang and Jack Champion reprise the roles of the villainous Miles Quaritch and his estranged son Spider, who reconnect in the new film. Lang told Empire, “They reconnect out of necessity. Their connection is not a solo connection. There are times when everybody comes together on some level. But, when enemies cooperate, you can be sure betrayal is just around the corner. … Spider confuses Quaritch. But Quaritch wants clarity. There is something about Spider that Quaritch really loves — not a word we associate with him. I think respect and admiration really develop in spades, as well as animosity and manipulation. The relationship will deepen — for better or worse.” Champion told Empire, “(Spider) feels very conflicted. His ‘dad’ is reborn into this Na’vi form and still as evil as ever, if not more so, and he still felt he had to save him. You see that guilt play out, and the evolution of Spider trying to figure out where he belongs.“

Cameron has said that he also has ideas for a potential Avatar 6 and 7, but they’ll only be made if there’s still a demand for the franchise. “They’ll be just far enough apart that they remain events, hopefully, in the lives of fans, of people who want to follow us, but not so far apart that it’s like there’s a generational difference between one movie. We’re fortunate we survived that, right? We got over that hurdle. So now we believe it’s going to come at the right pacing.“ In the meantime, he’s also planning Ghosts of Hiroshima and The Devils.

Are you looking forward to seeing Quaritch and Spider’s interactions in Avatar: Fire and Ash? Let us know by leaving a comment below.