Although the Avatar movies take place on Pandora, Earth is still around in the franchise, and here are all 10 of the major details that have been revealed about Earth in the two films. Humans are the main villains of both Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, with them traveling from Earth in order to colonize Pandora and harvest its natural resources. While this is clearly horrible, the status of Earth is barely explored in Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, with these 10 details being the only facts that the Avatar movies have revealed about the planet.
2009's Avatar was a massive success, and that's in large part thanks to the incredible world-building that the film sets up. The Avatar movies take place far in the future, with the franchise's main events starting in the 2150s. Earth has become a shell of its former self by this time period, causing Earth's humans to invade the peaceful planet of Pandora. While Pandora is explored in-depth across Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, Earth is barely given any screen time, only appearing in very brief flashbacks in the first film. So, here are all the details the Avatar franchise has revealed about Earth, including plans for the future.
10 Earth's Natural Environments Have Been Completely Destroyed
The biggest detail about Earth is that its natural environments have been completely destroyed. Very little of the ozone layer remains, and pollution and nuclear warfare have caused the forests and oceans to wither. Extensive mining operations in Africa have made things even worse, causing rates of pollution to ramp up significantly. At one point, Jake Sully explains that there is almost no green left on Earth, hinting that plants in nature are almost non-existent. Compared to Pandora, these details paint an incredibly bleak picture of what Earth is like.
9 Earth's Animals Are Going Extinct (But Cloning Is Bringing Them Back)
While plants are almost completely gone, Earth's animals aren't far behind them. Earth's animals are going extinct at an alarming rate, with lions, whales, and many other fish species being confirmed to be extinct in the films and the Avatar expanded universe. However, it's possible that things could turn around. 2009's Avatar originally opened with a scene that took place on Earth, although it was cut before the film's release. In this scene, a news broadcast mentions that the Beijing Zoo has successfully cloned a Bengal tiger, which was previously extinct. While this storyline hasn't been explored much, it could be key to saving Earth.
8 Climate Change Has Destroyed Large Parts Of Earth
Earth's land masses look very different in the Avatar universe than they do today, with the effects of climate change having destroyed large parts of Earth. Rising temperatures due to the loss of Earth's ozone layer have caused sea levels to rise immensely, submerging many of the planet's coastal cities underwater. A large tsunami decimated the east coast of North America in the 2140s, wiping out many of the continent's major cities and landmarks. On top of that, the deep south of the United States has also been submerged, leaving very little of North America inhabitable.
7 RDA Factories Are Orbiting Earth & The Moon
The Resources Development Administration is an Earth-based private company that uses its immense wealth and power to travel to other planets in an attempt to save Earth. The RDA's employees are villains in the first two Avatar movies, and it doesn't seem as if the company is much better on Earth. The RDA has surrounded Earth and the moon (as well as various other planets) with orbiting factories. These factories cause tons of extra pollution to rain down onto Earth, making the already disgusting planet even worse.
6 Earth's Population Has Reached A Breaking Point
Another big problem with Earth in the world of Avatar is overpopulation. Earth's population reached a breaking point when it hit 20 billion in the early 2100s, with Earth's dwindling natural resources not being able to keep up with the population's growth. Land has also become a huge problem, as it is difficult to find places to shelter all of these people, leading to ideas of planetary colonization.
5 Earth Is Constantly At War Over Scarce Resources
Earth's overpopulation and dwindling resources have led to the planet being embroiled in near-constant warfare. Jake Sully fought in one of the biggest international resource wars, which led to him being paralyzed before the events of the first Avatar. This warfare has made Earth's resource problem even worse, causing a global energy shortage which in turn led to more war.
4 Algae Has Become Earth's Primary Food Source
The RDA has done at least one good thing in the world of Avatar, as it stepped in amidst the resource shortage and created a new food source: algae. This synthesized algae is in plentiful supply on Earth, with it even being shipped to the colonies on the moon as well. It isn't known how this algae has affected the resource-based wars on Earth, but it is certain to have helped some.
3 RDA's Unobtanium Transportation System Connects All Of Earth
The first Avatar sees the RDA travel to Pandora in order to mine unobtanium. Although the first film doesn't reveal what happened with this unobtanium, it is later discovered that the RDA used it to build a massive international transportation system on Earth. This railway system allows humans to travel between continents with ease, with it acting as one of the few positive elements in the dystopian future of Earth.
2 Some Modern Companies & Institutions Still Exist In Avatar's Future
Although Avatar takes place over a century in the future, some modern companies and institutions are still around. The Avatar franchise contains references to companies like Pepsi, McDonald's, Converse, 7-Eleven, and more, showing that these companies have somehow survived the turmoil on Earth. Colleges like Stanford are still around, with Avatar's Dr. Grace wearing a Stanford shirt in the first film. The original Avatar's deleted opening scene also reveals that the UN still exists, as well as countries like the US, Brazil, China, Germany, Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain, and Venezuela.
1 The Na'vi Will Travel To Earth In Avatar 5
While details about Earth have been dished out in short supply, a lot more will be known about the planet when the Sully family travels to Earth in Avatar 5. Avatar 5's return to Earth has been confirmed by series producer Jon Landau, who has explained that the film will see an attempt to save the dystopian planet. Since Pandora has been explored for two whole films, the fate of Earth has become one of the franchise's more interesting questions, with the future of Avatar setting up an even bigger Earth story.