The possibility of Avatar 2 taking place partially on Earth, as has been teased, would fix a significant problem with the original Avatar's story and characters. Given that Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5 now have scheduled release dates in 2022, 2024, 2026, and 2028, respectively, the potential for where the series' story can go is nearly limitless. Without a doubt, much of it will unfold on the rich world of Pandora, but James Cameron confirmed an Earth setting for Avatar 2 as well, at least in part.
The first Avatar came out in 2009, meaning its sequels are arriving over a decade after the fact–nearly two decades in the case of Avatar 5. Part of the reason behind this delay is Cameron's ambition for the series, both because some of the sequels have been filming simultaneously, and mostly because the underwater filming technology that Avatar 2 heavily relies on hadn't even been invented yet back when the first movie premiered. The significant passage of time between the original movie and the sequels poses certain challenges, but it has also hopefully primed Avatar 2 to fix problems of the Na'vi and human nature when it comes to the film's characters, setting, and story.
One of the first Avatar's issues is the lack of clarity surrounding life on Earth in the 22nd century when the film is set. Partly as a result of this, many of the film's human characters feel a bit flat when it comes to their motivations for leaving Earth. The allure of Pandora is quite clear, but the other half of the equation–why people are so ready to abandon Earth–remains somewhat of a generic mystery. With Avatar 2 taking audiences back to Earth for part of the story, the series now has the opportunity to rectify this issue by making Earth, and thereby humans, a more complex and fleshed-out presence in the story moving forward.
Avatar's most significant deleted scene of Jake on Earth can be Avatar 2's jumping-off point for making the planet a more interesting and nuanced location in the world of the franchise. In the scene, Jake is struggling through a densely populated urban area full of screens and totally devoid of wildlife. This scene does a lot to reinforce the primary conflict in the first Avatar, the humans' desperate grab for unobtanium, by showing what has become of Earth thanks to humanity's past actions. As Jake asserts to the Na'vi, "[the humans] killed their mother," meaning planet Earth, but the film doesn't explore or interrogate this any further. With the sequel returning to Earth, Cameron now has the opportunity to not only set up an Endgame-level war in Avatar 2, but also to address one of the original film's biggest story holes. In doing so, he can also give the films' human characters more depth and backstory.
Of course, it remains to be seen just how much of Avatar 2 really is set on Earth, and how much of that time takes place in the story's present vs. past. While humans and the Earth's agenda could continue to be major players moving forward, Pandora also has much more to offer. Cameron's technological efforts alone indicate his commitment to making his fictional world even lusher and more fantastical than in the original film, and with all that energy spent on Pandora, it's unclear how much will be left to devote to Earth. It's even possible that humanity has died out by Avatar 2 due to a shortage of unobtanium. Regardless of how Earth features in Avatar 2, however, it's sure to be useful in addressing Avatar's greatest lingering question.
