The ending of Avatar saw lead character Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) become a Na'vi, but his journey to get there was a little unclear in the movie. From his humble beginnings as an undercover operator for Earth to his triumphant rise to serve as a member of the Na'vi, Jake Sully underwent a massive character arc in James Cameron's groundbreaking work (ultimately, Avatar changed movies more than you think) With the long-awaited sequel Avatar: The Way Of Water arriving in 2022, now is the perfect time to reflect on Jake Sully's journey.
Avatar is set on a planet called Pandora, which humans are colonizing in an effort to mine a rare mineral called unobtanium. This threatens the existence of a local tribe of Na'vi, an indigenous humanoid species. To find a way to relocate the Na'vi, Jake Sully is sent undercover into the tribe using a machine that allowed him to "pilot" a lab-grown Na'vi body via a psionic link. As the conflict between the humans and the Na'vi — which will also likely define Avatar's four $1 billion sequels — escalates, Jake begins to appreciate Na’vi culture. He falls in love with a Na'vi hunter named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and eventually becomes her mate. He is accepted into the Omaticaya clan and sides with the Na’vi to drive the humans off Pandora.
In Avatar, the Na’vi have a strong connection to Eywa — their guiding force and deity — and can link with all living things on the planet thanks to a system of neuro-connective antennae. These antennae can tie into the Tree of Souls, a location that provides a strong link to Eywa and allows the Na’vi to communicate with their ancestors. If enough Na’vi use their ponytails to link with the Tree of Souls, a risky ritual can be performed to transfer a consciousness from one body to another. This is what allows Jake Sully to remain a Na’vi. His consciousness is passed from his human body through the Eye of Eywa and into his avatar body. When he opens his eyes, he is reborn as a Na'vi.
That isn’t the first time a consciousness transfer ritual is attempted. Prior to the final battle, Na’vi ally Dr. Grace Augustine is shot during a successful escape attempt. The Na’vi agree to let her undergo a consciousness transfer. However, her human body is too weak and she dies before the ritual is complete. Despite this, Grace is also in James Cameron's story plan for the Avatar sequels, which suggests that her consciousness is still within the Eye of Eywa. Perhaps Jake Sully and the others can communicate with her in the same way that the Na’vi communicate with their ancestors, or maybe the scientists who remain on Pandora will grow her another Na’vi body for her consciousness to be transferred into.
The exact mechanics of the consciousness transfer are unknown. Perhaps the process is like uploading someone’s consciousness into a cloud-style database, then downloading it into a different body. The inclusion of Grace in the Avatar sequels suggests that a person's consciousness can be stored in the Eye of Eywa. It doesn’t necessarily require a host body to move into. It can presumably be stored indefinitely, which is a good thing considering how long after the first movie Avatar 2 takes place. Maybe the transfer is like making a copy. This would imply that the original dies when the new one wakes. The latter has all the memories of the former, so they think they are the same person. If Jake realizes this, it could cause a major identity crisis.
Jake's decision to become a Na'vi will surely cause some tension in the upcoming sequel, as there will be plenty of Na’vi who still see him as an outsider. He will also be grappling with his own identity. This will lead to some interesting interactions with his new family unit, which includes a human son, in Avatar 2. This all provides fertile ground for future Avatar films, potentially leading to more character depth for the protagonist. The consciousness transfer is an interesting aspect of Avatar and it begs to be explored in the sequels.