James Cameron recently announced that Jake Sully will not be narrating Avatar 3, with the film instead focusing on a character introduced in Avatar: The Way of Water. Avatar: The Way of Water introduced loads of new characters and environments to Pandora, expanding the universe of Avatar far beyond Jake Sully and the Omatikaya clan. Avatar 3 is set to continue the trend of focusing on new characters and stories, and James Cameron's big narrator switch is a good thing for the franchise's future.
Avatar 3 will be the third out of five planned entries in the Avatar series, with director James Cameron promising that the exciting sequel will introduce new villains and Na'vi, such as the fire clan. Although not much is known about the Avatar 3 story, it will presumably continue the threads introduced in Avatar: The Way of Water, following characters like Jake Sully and Neytiri's children. Giving the young Na'vi time in the spotlight is a good thing, as shifting focus away from Jake Sully can make the universe even grander.
Having Lo'ak Narrate Makes The Avatar Franchise More Epic
James Cameron has already revealed that Lo'ak will narrate Avatar 3, with each subsequent film having a new narrator. Lo'ak is Jake Sully's oldest living son, with his older brother Neteyam being killed in Avatar: The Way of Water. This narrator change is actually good for Avatar 3, as moving away from Jake Sully makes the franchise more epic. It proves that Avatar has more to offer than just the story of Jake Sully, giving a new perspective to Avatar 3's story.
James Cameron's Avatar 3 narrator change also proves that future Avatar movies could introduce new main characters that haven't yet appeared. Lo'ak wasn't even in the first Avatar, and now he seems to be the main focus of Avatar 3. It seems like there will be a significant time jump between Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar 3, meaning that Avatar 4 or Avatar 5 could even focus on later generations of Jake Sully's family, making the series feel like an epic, multi-generational saga rather than one elongated story about Jake Sully.
The Focus On Lo'ak Fixes Avatar's White Savior Problem
The white savior trope is a common criticism of films like Avatar, with the trend occurring when a film's story centers on a white person stepping in to solve the problems of a group of usually Indigenous people. Avatar is one of the clearest white savior examples, with Jake Sully being a white man from Earth that is key to saving the Na'vi (who are meant to be an analogy for Indigenous people). While Jake does become Na'vi at the movie's end, the white savior problem is still core to Jake Sully's character in Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water.
Switching focus to Lo'ak is Avatar 3 will fix the white savior problem, addressing the criticism that's been levied at the franchise since the first film's release. Unlike Jake Sully, Lo'ak is a naturally born Na'vi. This means that Avatar 3 will focus on a native member of the Omatikaya rather than an outsider, preventing the white savior trope from being repeated for a third time. Making Lo'ak the narrator in Avatar 3 seems like a great choice and is a good sign for the future of the series.
