'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Story Trailer Analysis
If the first trailer for James Cameron's upcoming "Avatar" installment was lacking, the most recent story trailer certainly was not. Cameron has a history of boldly including major spoiler elements in his trailers and the second "Avatar: Fire and Ash" trailer, released on September 25th, is no exception to this rule. The second trailer is bold, sweeping and has more than a little bit to say about the conflict of the next epic in the "Avatar" saga. Let's dig in to what can be learned from the second trailer.
"Disney loves Varang," said loremaster and franchise president Joshua Izzo during his introductory panel at OmatiCon 2025, and this trailer certainly proves that assessment true. The very first shot is of our new villainess, narrating the history of her clan to some offscreen listener (likely Stephen Lang's Recom Miles Quaritch). The Mangkwan, or Ash Clan as they are known in English, were devastated by a natural eruption from a nearby volcano in their territory. Varang's narration is intercut with scenes from the first trailer showing the still-erupting volcano and the barren landscape of the Ash Clan's domain. "The fire came from the mountain. Burned our forests. My people cried for help. But Eywa did not come," Varang explains, her disdain for the Na'vi's universal deity evident in her tone.
The cold open complete, the trailer then moves to several establishing shots of the younger cast of characters (Lo'ak, Kiri, Tsireya, Neteyam?) flying and riding atop ikran and Tulkun. These shots don't appear to be connected in any way other than thematically, coming from different points in the film. As before, it's highly likely the initial shot of Lo'ak and an unknown Na'vi flying their ikran in the Hallelujah Mountains comes from some kind of flashback or look back.
After these shots, the trailer gives us another short look at the Windtrader fleet, with Jack Champion's Spider Socorro following Lo'ak along the deck of one of their flying vessels. His eyes look up in wonder.
The trailer cuts to Jake sitting in a swamplike environment while Kiri, Tuk and Lo'ak rest behind him. "This world goes much deeper than you can imagine," he says to someone out of frame (which coincidentally enough is also likely to be Quaritch based on context keys from the first trailer.) Jake's line is intercut with a shot of Kiri underwater, looking out of frame with concern as light grows on her face. Notably, several RDA Mako Subs are visible in the background of the shot, shining their forward lights what appears to be a Tulkun's tailfin. The following scene appears to be in the same sequence, showing Kiri and Spider underwater at the Metkayina Spirit Tree as the tree begins to light up.
In the first film, the tree was shown to go dark after Kiri's seizure at the Spirit Tree, but otherwise is shown to be well lit at all times. The fact that it appears to be "coming to life" in this shot likely has some significance to the finale of Fire and Ash, though what specifically we cannot say.
The next scene shown is a breathtaking shot of Jake, Neytiri, Tonowari and Ronal standing atop a Tulkun's back on a foggy ocean morning. As they watch, an enormous Tulkun breaches the water slowly, two massive piercings visible on her lower lips. From context, we know this to be Matriarch, the Tulkun elder and leader of her pod. The shot cuts wide, showing nine more Tulkun rising from the ocean in a similar manner, forming a circle around our protagonists.
After a moment of peace, the trailer launches us right back into the action, showing us the Ash Clan attacking a Windtrader floatilla. We get our first good look at Varang's unique flying mount: A new creature called a Nightwraith (affectionately known as "Ashley" by the cast and crew). The Ash Clan warparty swoops down on the Windtrader fleet, while Jake instructs Lo'ak to "protect your sisters". Lo'ak immediately jumps into action, telling them to take shelter. In the next shot, a vicious-looking Na'vi in Ash Clan warpaint approaches Spider, who is holding a bow. Spider grits his teeth and fires, standing between the approaching Na'vi and Kiri. The boat they stand on is in flames, and dead Windtraders litter the deck.
The action jumps back to Varang as she looses a flaming arrow. The arrow impacts the top of one of the Windtraders' balloon-like ballasts, causing it to erupt in flame. Jake urgently runs away from the growing explosion before yelling and sliding down the side of the ballast.
Next, we're taken to the ground as the Sully children flee through the forest into a river. "What does dad always say?" asks Lo'ak, to which Tuktirey responds "Sullys stick together." In a bit of humor, Lo'ak says "no, the other one." Tuktirey tries again, "Sullys never quit," which Lo'ak affirms as the answer he was looking for. "That's right, Sullys never quit."
Major spoilers ahead, we're shown a comatose Spider with bioluminescent tendrils (akin to the ones that wrapped around Grace Augustine shortly before her death in the original "Avatar") covering his body, and growing inside his nose and mouth. Gross, in a fascinating kind of way. Ironically enough, this shot answers the question from the next, as Varang savagely grips a captured Spider's bare face, demanding "how do you still live?"
Elsewhere, Jake and Norm Spellman discuss the same question while reviewing what appears to be bio-scans of Spider's brain and body. "What if every human being on Earth could live here without a mask?" Jake asks in alarm. "Then the Na'vi people will be gone," he finishes as we're shown four quick shots: Spider walking toward Jake and Neytiri, maskless, Neytiri regarding him with an expression of confusion, and two shots of Jake and Neytiri talking while she is covered in full Ash Clan warpaint.
There's a lot here. Firstly, the line spoken comes from the second of these scenes, which is definitively separate from the first one shown. From that scene, is now all but certain that Neytiri will willingly find herself aligned with the Ash Clan antagonists at some point in this film and Jake is pleading with her to come back. In the original scene, Neytiri's expression can be interpreted as one of disgust at Eywa's "miracle", choosing to grant Spider the ability to live and walk on Pandora like the Na'vi. Is it possible that this one act is enough for her to lose her faith and seek the Ash Clan? Only time will tell.
We're shown a shot of Spider connecting his new kuru (neural queue) with an ilu "pony" while Kiri helps him learn, confirming fan theories that Spider was going to receive more than just new lungs. Then we're taken right back into the deep forest as Varang aggressively connects her own kuru with an alarmed Quaritch. Quaritch falls to his knees. In the background, Lo'ak is being pinned to the ground by several Ash Clan warriors. We're given another shot of the Ash Clan warparty, dancing through flames and scattering embers into the sky.
"You want to spread your fire across the world? You need me," says Quaritch to Varang as they sit together beside a fire. Without saying too much about the specifics, there are several context keys in this scene that have fans rabidly theorizing about a certain romantic pairing.
Following thematically, Quaritch and Varang are shown crossing a sandy beach, flanked by both RDA and Ash Clan reinforcements. Corporal Lyle Wainfleet is visible in this scene, and it's very likely that this scene is connected with Jake's surrender shown in the first trailer.
After this, the RDA are shown approaching the Metkayina's Cove of the Ancestors. An unusual flux spiral erupts from the ocean's surface near where the Spirit Tree is located. In a different shot, Lo'ak announces "we must fight!" to a gathering of Tulkun and Na'vi. Neytiri, Aonung, Tsireya and Rotxo are visible in the background.
We're now deep in the climax of the trailer. The RDA's new factory ship is shown deploying a mass of forces. Boats and armored crab walkers spew forth from the vessel at the Cove of the Ancestors.
"I call upon the warrior Mother," pleads Kiri underwater, a purple glow visible on her face. Ronal is shown stabbing her spear into the canopy of a crab walker, compromising it. She is still noticeably pregnant.
Kiri underwater, bioluminescent marks strobing, seems to command some form of attack or response from Eywa while Spider looks on in awe. Squidlike creatures are shown overwhelming an RDA boat.
Jake stands, unarmed, before Toruk as it steps into the light. A pile of bones is visible at its feet. Jake gently reaches out and touches the side of its head and the creature closes its eyes slightly.
Neytiri is shown dodging missiles from a Dragon gunship during the battle at the Cove of the Ancestors, before loosing an explosive-tipped arrow, destroying one of its rotors completely. A clip of Varang and Neytiri colliding from the Windtrader attack sequence is also cut into the trailer at this point. Both women snarl at each other, and Neytiri has an arrow protruding from her shoulder confirming several fan theories about her injury and shots from the first trailer.
Quaritch leaps down several floating rocks, flaming debris flies into the air behind him. Spider stands between Quaritch and Jake while pointing a crossbow at the former. He exclaims "I'll kill you, I swear!"
Lo'ak is shown firing his rifle while holding onto a Tulkun's forefin during a leap. He is wearing a Metkayina harness, which indicates that he has completed their rites of passage.
The music swells as Toruk is shown diving toward an RDA Sea Wasp in a shot pulled straight from the first Avatar. Jake growls viciously as Toruk swings the aircraft by its tail, and the trailer cuts to the title.
If there was any doubt that James Cameron has another certified box-office hit coming this December, this trailer has removed it entirely. The stakes are raised, the conflict is nuanced, and Cameron's third return to Pandora promises to be the most visually-striking and emotionally compelling entry in his Avatar saga so far.
For an opportunity to see this trailer for yourself on the big screen, as well as several sneak-preview scenes from the film, make sure to find tickets for the return of Avatar: The Way of Water to theaters this October and keep an eye out for Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters, this December. For more Avatar discussion, join our Discord community, and follow us on social media for more breaking Avatar news!
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