James Cameron Changed Avatar: Fire and Ash to Reference Key Scene in Original Movie

In Avatar 3, James Cameron revealed that Fire and Ash will have a major callback to the first movie.

In an interview with Variety, Cameron previewed Avatar: Fire and Ash and discussed his creative process. Cameron said he rarely second-guesses his “creative impulses.” However, he did do it once while working on Avatar 3 when he felt the storytelling was “a little off.”

“Our Toruk is back [in Fire and Ash], right? You know, the big bird that Jake rides [in Avatar]. I’ve always been waiting for the question, ‘Why doesn’t he just go get the big red bird and kill everybody like he used to do?’ Because that doesn’t exist in The Way of Water at all,” Cameron explained

What scene did James Cameron add to reference Avatar?

Originally, Toruk was not involved in Fire and Ash. Cameron went back to the drawing board and inserted Toruk back into the story, which meant reshooting some additional scenes.

“I went, ‘Oh, he’s got to go get the bird.’ Come on! I was saving it for a later film. I was like, “F*** that! He should get the bird. Get the Toruk.” There’s something in Jake’s destiny that requires it, right?” Cameron said. “So I just rewrote it, and we went back, and we shot two or three scenes around that concept, and I threw some stuff out and stuck that in … it works beautifully, and the actors were super excited about that idea. It’s like, Oh, okay, that feels right, you know?”

Avatar: Fire and Ash arrives three years after the second iteration, Avatar: The Way of Water. The first two Avatar films are the first and third highest-grossing movies of all time. If Fire and Ash wants to join the likes of its predecessors, it will need to gross at least $2 billion worldwide.

Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19, 2025.

Originally reported by Dan Girolamo on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net