The long awaited sequels to Avatar are still a ways away thanks to COVID-19 delays, but fans of James Cameron’s series won’t be entirely without content for much longer. Dark Horse comics is working on a new Avatar comic series set to debut early next year.
Titled Avatar: The Next Shadow, this upcoming limited series will reportedly bridge the gap between the original 2009 film and the sequel, which is currently set to release at the end of 2022. The series will be broken up into four parts, each written by Jeremy Barlow and illustrated by Josh Hood. Jake Sully, the protagonist of the film series, will also be the main character in the comics. Other central characters from the movie will also presumably appear.
As reported by THR, the official synopsis for the series reads: “Jake Sully can fight a war, but can he keep the peace? Days after the destruction of the Na’vi Hometree, Jake finds himself ill-equipped to defuse the internal conflicts threatening to tear the Omatikaya apart — and perilously unprepared for a treacherous plot to remove him from the clan forever.” Based on this, it looks like Avatar: The Next Shadow will truly pick up right where the Avatar movie left off - mere days later. Jake Sully, now permanently in his Na’vi body, will need to deal with internal clan conflicts now that the human threat has been dealt with, at least for now. However, it sounds as though some will still be opposed to Jake’s joining the clan, so he may need to prove himself to the Na’vi people once again.
Avatar: The Next Shadow will be on sale starting January 6, 2021. In the meantime, Dark Horse has several other Avatar-inspired comics to hold fans over. Back in 2017, a standalone issue titled Avatar: Brothers was released. Set during the events of the first movie, this story centers around Jake’s bond with the Great Leonopteryx while also delving deeper into Jake’s relationship with his late brother, who was a powerful but unseen presence in the film. There’s also Avatar: Tsu’tey’s Path, a six issue mini-series focussing Tsu-tey, which also takes place during the events of the movie.
With Avatar 2 set to release thirteen years after the original film, and multiple other sequels reportedly in development, it looks like James Cameron’s franchise will be making a serious comeback in the next few years, assuming the delays don't last too long - and it all starts with Avatar: The Next Shadow.
Source: THR