Avatar: The Way of Water is a 2022 American epic science fiction film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It is the second installment in the Avatar film series and the sequel to Avatar (2009). Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña and Stephen Lang reprise their roles from the first film, with Sigourney Weaver returning in an additional role and Kate Winslet joining the cast. The plot follows Jake Sully, a human-Na'vi hybrid, and his family on the habitable moon Pandora. Hunted by RDA forces, they flee to an oceanic region to seek refuge with the Metkayina clan.
Following the success of Avatar in 2009, two sequels were announced, with the first aiming for a 2014 release. However, the addition of two more sequels—for a total of five films—and the need to develop new technology to film motion-capture scenes underwater, led to significant delays. The filming process, which occurred simultaneously with the third film in the franchise, Avatar: Fire and Ash, began in Manhattan Beach, California, on August 15, 2017. Production moved to Wellington, New Zealand the following month, and was completed three years later, in September 2020. With an estimated budget of $350–460 million, Avatar: The Way of Water is one of the most expensive films ever made. It was produced by Cameron's company Lightstorm Entertainment.
After repeated delays in release, Avatar: The Way of Water premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square theater in London on December 6, 2022, and was released in the United States on December 16, by 20th Century Studios. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the visual effects and technical achievements but criticized the runtime. It was a major box office success, breaking multiple records. It grossed $2.334 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2022 and the third-highest-grossing film at the time of its release. Among its many accolades, it was named one of the top-ten films of 2022 by The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. It was also nominated for four awards at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won for Best Visual Effects. The sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash was released in December 2025.
Plot
Sixteen years after the Na'vi repelled the Resources Development Administration (RDA) from Pandora, Jake Sully is chief of the Omatikaya clan. He and his wife Neytiri have two sons, Neteyam and Lo'ak, a daughter, Tuktirey ("Tuk"), and an adopted daughter, Kiri, who was born from the inert avatar of Dr. Grace Augustine. Miles "Spider" Socorro, son of the deceased Colonel Miles Quaritch, is a frequent playmate of the Sully children, and is being raised by the human scientists who stayed on Pandora.
The RDA returns to colonize Pandora. Among the colonists are recombinants, Na'vi avatars implanted with memories of dead human soldiers, including a recombinant Quaritch. As Jake leads a guerrilla warfare campaign against the RDA, Quaritch searches for Jake's headquarters. Quaritch and his team capture Jake's children, but Jake and Neytiri free them. Quaritch also captures Spider, and recognizes him as his son. After the RDA fails to gain information from Spider, Quaritch decides to spend time with his son to gain his favor. In return, Spider teaches Quaritch about Na'vi culture and language.
Knowing that Spider's knowledge could lead Quaritch to the Omatikaya, Jake and his family leave their clan and relocate to Pandora's eastern sea, where they are granted asylum by the aquatic Metkayina clan. The Sully family begins assimilating into the clan by learning their ways, although Jake's children have conflicts with the sons of Tonowari, the Metkayina chief. Lo'ak befriends Tsireya, Tonowari's daughter.
Tonowari's son Aonung and his friends entice Lo'ak to join a hunting trip, but strand him in a dangerous part of the sea. Lo'ak is saved from a shark-like predator by Payakan, who is a Tulkun—a highly intelligent whale-like creature. Lo'ak bonds with Payakan, and learns that he has been exiled by the other Tulkun. Kiri connects to the Metkayina's underwater Spirit Tree and meets her mother Grace in a vision, but suffers a seizure and nearly drowns. Jake summons his scientist friends Norm Spellman and Max Patel for help; they diagnose Kiri with epilepsy, warning that she may die if she links with the Spirit Tree again.
Quaritch tracks Norm and Max's aircraft to the Metkayina's archipelago. He commandeers a ship which is hunting the Tulkun, and interrogates the Na'vi in the archipelago. After the Na'vi fail to give him information about Jake, he burns their dwellings. Meanwhile, Lo'ak mentally links with Payakan and learns that he was exiled because he attacked humans who killed his mother, a violation of the Tulkun vow of pacifism.
Aware that the Metkayina have a spiritual bond with the Tulkun, Quaritch attempts to draw Jake out by ordering the ship's captain to hunt Tulkun close to Na'vi villages. When the Metkayina learn of the Tulkun killings, Lo'ak goes to warn Payakan, accompanied by several other children. They find that Payakan has been tagged for capture by the RDA. They help him escape, but are caught by Quaritch's team. Jake, Neytiri, and the Metkayina pursue Quaritch, who demands that Jake surrender himself in exchange for his children. Before Jake reaches the ship, Payakan attacks it, sparking a battle between the Metkayina and Quaritch's forces. Spider sabotages the RDA vessel, while Neteyam rescues Lo'ak, Tsireya, and Spider. During their escape, Neteyam is fatally shot.
Enraged at Neteyam's death, Jake and Neytiri attack Quaritch's crew, seeking to rescue Kiri and Tuk. After Jake frees Tuk, Quaritch threatens to kill Kiri, but he releases her when Neytiri threatens to kill Spider. After a tense skirmish, Jake strangles Quaritch unconscious. Jake is rescued from the sinking ship by Lo'ak and Payakan, while Kiri saves Neytiri and Tuk. Spider saves Quaritch from drowning but refuses to stay with him.
After Neteyam's funeral, Jake informs Tonowari of his decision to leave the Metkayina, but Tonowari declares Jake's family part of the clan and welcomes them to stay. Jake realizes he cannot keep running from Quaritch and the RDA, and must stand and fight instead.
Cast
Sam Worthington as Jake Sully: A human who was transferred into a Na'vi body and led the effort to drive the RDA off Pandora. Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri: Jake's wife. Sigourney Weaver as Kiri: Jake and Neytiri's adopted daughter who was born from Dr. Grace Augustine's inert Na'vi avatar. Weaver also reprises her role as Dr. Grace Augustine. Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch: The human commander of the RDA security forces, who was killed by Neytiri then later resurrected as a Na'vi recombinant. Kate Winslet as Ronal: The pregnant wife of Tonowari, the chief of the Metkayina clan. Cliff Curtis as Tonowari: The chief of the Metkayina clan.
Joel David Moore as Dr. Norm Spellman: A human scientist and ally of the Na'vi who stayed on Pandora when the RDA was driven off. CCH Pounder as Mo'at: The Omatikaya's spiritual leader and Neytiri's mother. Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore: The commander in charge of the RDA's interests. Brendan Cowell as Captain Mick Scoresby: A hunter of the whale-like Tulkun. Jemaine Clement as Dr. Ian Garvin: A marine biologist employed by Scoresby. Jamie Flatters as Neteyam: Jake and Neytiri's teenaged son and oldest child. Jeremy Irwin plays a younger Neteyam, while Joel David Moore's son Oliver appears as the infant Neteyam. Britain Dalton as Lo'ak: Jake and Neytiri's second son. Chloe Coleman plays a young Lo'ak. Trinity Bliss as Tuktirey ("Tuk"): Jake and Neytiri's daughter and their youngest child. Jack Champion as Miles "Spider" Socorro: The teenaged human son of Quaritch who was raised by the human scientists who stayed on Pandora. He was adopted by Jake and Neytiri. Bailey Bass as Tsireya: The daughter of Tonowari and Ronal of the Metkayina. Filip Geljo as Aonung: The son of Tonowari and Ronal of the Metkayina. Duane Evans Jr. as Rotxo: A Metkayina youth. Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge: The former administrator of the RDA who was expelled from Pandora. Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel: A human scientist and ally of the Na'vi who stayed on Pandora when the RDA was driven off. Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet: A recombinant under Quaritch's command. Alicia Vela-Bailey appears uncredited as the recombinant Zdinarsk "Z-Dog".Avatar: The Next Shadow issue #1, pg. 7 CJ Jones, who helped create the Na'vi sign language for the film, appears in an uncredited role as a Metkayina interpreter. Keston John plays Tarsem, who becomes chief of the Omatikaya after Jake and his family flee.
Production Development
In 2006, Cameron said if Avatar (2009) was successful, he would consider making two sequels; he had included scenes in the first film that could be used for future story follow-ups. In 2010, he said the sequels would proceed as planned as a result of the film's widespread success. He said the sequels would explore other nearby moons, and he intended to capture footage for the films at the bottom of the Mariana Trench using a deepwater submersible. The films would continue the environmental theme of Avatar, but would not be "strident" and would be focused more on entertainment. Cameron planned to shoot the sequels back-to-back and at a higher frame rate than the industry standard 24 frames per second, to add a heightened sense of reality. The sequels were originally scheduled for release in 2014 and 2015.
In 2013, Cameron announced that the sequels would be filmed in New Zealand, with performance capture to take place in 2014. An agreement with the New Zealand government required at least one world premiere to be held in Wellington and at least NZ$500 million (roughly US$410 million) to be spent on production activity in New Zealand, including live-action filming and visual effects. The New Zealand government announced it would raise its baseline tax rebate for filmmaking from 15% to 20%, with 25% available to international productions in some cases.
Cameron mentioned a possible third sequel for the first time in 2012, confirming it the following year. By August 2013, his plan was to release Avatar 2 in 2016, followed by the other two sequels in 2017 and 2018. By 2015, the complex writing process forced Cameron to delay the release of each sequel by a year, with the first sequel slated for release in December 2017. The following month, Fox announced a further release delay. By February 2016, production of the sequels was scheduled to begin in April 2016 in New Zealand. In April 2016, Cameron announced at CinemaCon that there would be four Avatar sequels, all filmed simultaneously.
New crew members for the sequels included cinematographer Russell Carpenter, who worked with Cameron on True Lies (1994) and Titanic (1997), and art director Aashrita Kamath. Kirk Krack, founder of Performance Freediving International, worked as a free-diving trainer for the cast and crew for the underwater scenes.
Writing