Producer Jon Landau discusses expanding the world of Avatar by delving into the time between Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water with comics and exploring a new part of Pandora with the Ubisoft game, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Avatar: The Way of Water picks up more than 10 years after the events of the first film. After the Sky People left Pandora, Jake and Neytiri started a family of their own. Sam Worthington revealed that James Cameron wrote a script that covers the time between the two films for himself and Zoe Saldana.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant for Avatar: The Way of Water, Landau discussed the possibility of the story from that script being released through other mediums. He revealed that they are interested in building out that era through comics and explained how the Ubisoft game will show an unexplored part of Pandora with new Na'vi clans. Check out Landau's full quote below:
Jon Landau: Graphic novel, maybe. We want to do some stories in the gap years for sure with Dark Horse. Our Ubisoft game takes place a little bit before we come back. So we're using ancillary opportunities to continue to build out the cannon. Anything we do, we want to say that's not a standalone that lives in the lore of Avatar.
Our Ubisoft video game we go to a whole different section of Pandora with all different clans. So you'll get to see that too.
How Comics & Games Can Expand the Story of Avatar: The Way Of Water
The world of Avatar is rich and expansive, with at least three more sequels set to continue the Sully family saga and the continued conflict between the Sky People and the Na'vi. However, there is a lot of story left to tell between Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. Adapting Cameron's Avatar 1.5 script could be the perfect way to flesh out the story of the Sully family. It can answer questions about Jake and Neytiri's time leading their people, raising their family, and the mysteries that still surround Spider.
Darkhorse Comics has already begun expanding the story of Avatar with stories following the Omaticaya warrior Tsu'tey, who was betrothed to Neytiri; Dr. Grace Augustine years before the first Avatar; and Jake trying to hold onto his leadership position within the Omaticaya. Further expanding the world through the comics to reveal more about the Sully family can show how the dynamics that are shown in Avatar: The Way of Water were built. These comics could also lay the groundwork for story arcs that will be continued in the upcoming Avatar sequels.
While the Sully family is at the center of the Avatar story, the world of Pandora is much larger than one family. Each Avatar sequel will introduce new Na'vi and explore new biomes, further expanding the planet. The upcoming Ubisoft game will follow this idea, with players able to explore a whole new part of Pandora with never-before-seen Na'vi clans. These Na'vi clans and areas on Pandora could potentially come into play in the upcoming three sequels, giving fans a chance to fall in love with these characters before they ever hit the big screen. Avatar: The Way of Water set up an expansive future for the Avatar franchise, with more than 10 years of Sully family adventures to potentially tell beyond the Avatar movies.
Avatar: The Way of Water is currently available to own on digital.