Avatar: Fire And Ash Reveals First New Character, And Everything About Him Sounds Cool

What the heck is James Cameron cooking up with "Avatar: Fire and Ash"? That's for the acclaimed filmmaker to know and the rest of us to find out when we finally return to Pandora at the end of 2025. Although much of the highly-anticipated threequel's plot remains under lock and key, the director is at least cracking open the door and letting fans catch a glimpse of what's in store. We know that the follow-up film to "Avatar: The Way of Water" will be adding to the diversity of the indigenous Na'vi, introducing an antagonistic Ash Clan known as the Mangkwan. It's been widely reported that the blockbuster will expand its ensemble cast and bring in significant figures played by Oona Chaplin, Edie Falco (who briefly appeared in the previous film), and more. But, for the first time, we're getting a look at a very different new character: a high-flying Na'vi portrayed by character actor David Thewlis.

Empire exclusively gave us a first look at Peylak, a respected chieftain of the Tlalim Clan — another new extension of the Na'vi culture known for taking to the skies on the backs of their fearsome space-jellyfish steeds. (Yeah, the attention to world-building details in "Avatar" is second to none, folks.) For those who remember when we first covered Thewlis' casting in the film back in 2020, the rumor at the time was that he'd actually be playing one of the rival members of the Ash Clan. That obviously missed the mark a bit, but that's what happens when a madman like Cameron films multiple sequels simultaneously.

However you might've thought that David Thewlis would appear when put through the visual effects process of an "Avatar" movie, I guarantee you never once expected this. Empire gave us an exciting new update on the threequel "Fire and Ash," which picks up a certain amount of time after the events of "The Way of Water" with Sully (the alien, not the airplane pilot) and his family ready to fend off the latest attack on their paradise from Earth's mightiest colonizing invaders. The article describes Thewlis' Peylak as the leader of a group called the Wind Traders "who traverse the lush moon on gigantic jellyfish-like creatures." Sadly, there are none of those aforementioned jellyfish things to be seen here, but in James Cameron we trust.

For those wondering what Pelak and his tribe will be like in the film, costume designer Deborah L. Scott explained to Empire, "They're upbeat, happy, colorful. And when they come into our movie, everyone's excited to see them. It's like the circus is in town." That's a far cry from Thewlis' previous blockbuster role as the god of war Ares in "Wonder Woman" and "Zack Snyder's Justice League," of course. It's also a much-needed update on what we initially heard from the actor himself when he last spoke about his VFX-heavy role. While talking to Red Carpet News TV, he revealed:

"[The motion capture] was a totally new experience for me. I'd never shot in that way before, I felt very naïve and very inexperienced. Jim Cameron was a very, very, very wonderful director to work for. I was a little worried at first, because I'd heard stories that he was difficult, and he wasn't difficult at all.

I haven't seen any of [the footage], I did it quite a long time ago now."

He sure ain't kidding, considering that he filmed his scenes back in 2018. This sounds like a fairly major role, but we'll see how it all plays out when "Avatar: Fire and Ash" arrives on December 19, 2025.