Avatar Producer Jon Landau has divulged new details about what we can expect from the next three installments in the franchise — first, when it comes to the nature of Oona Chaplin’s previously announced role in Avatar 3.
The Game of Thrones alum — also known as the granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin — has been cast in the role of Varang — the leader of the more evil, fire-themed Na’vi tribe known as the Ash People, which will be at the crux of the third installment.
“There are good humans and there are bad humans. It’s the same thing on the Na’vi side,” Landau recently told Empire, echoing comments previously made by filmmaker Jamea Cameron about the subject up for exploration in Avatar 3. “Oftentimes, people don’t see themselves as bad. What is the root cause of how they evolve into what we perceive as bad? Maybe there are other factors there that we aren’t aware of.”
Landau went on to share that Avatar 4 will feature “a big time jump,” before reiterating that the fifth film will spend some time on Earth. Our planet, as depicted in the world of Avatar, is one ruled by “over-population and a depletion of our natural resources that make life harder,” he said.
The producer went on to clarify, though, that the Avatar team doesn’t “want to paint a bleak picture for where our world is going. The films are also about the idea that we can change course.”
Landau’s comments come amid the global release of Cameron’s long-awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water, which hit theaters 13 years after his original sci-fi epic. Cameron said prior to The Way of Water’s release that if the film were to fail at the box-office, it would lead the franchise’s future in doubt, in spite of the fact that he’s already wrapped production on Avatar 3 and part of the fourth film.
But to the relief of both Cameron and 20th Century Studios, the sequel has more than delivered, thus far grossing over $2.1B worldwide, to become the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time.
