The Tulkun May Hold The Key To Avatar 4 And 5

This article contains spoilers for "Avatar: Fire and Ash."

Back when "Avatar" was released in 2009 and director James Cameron claimed that three movies were going to follow it (later expanded to four), many assumed that the long production period of the films were solely to do with developing the tech needed to make them. And while this was indeed a factor, "The Way of Water" and now "Fire and Ash" have proved that Cameron's vision for the franchise is as expansive in its storytelling as its visuals. In other words, the "Avatar" movies aren't just the ongoing adventures of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldańa); they're also a multi-generational epic about the pair's family, foes, and humanity and the Na'vi's intertwined destiny.

Yet, while a story told over such a large span of time is highly common in literature, it's a little more unusual in cinema. Even though audiences have become used to the concept of legacy sequels, in which the heroes of a film return to pass the torch to a younger protagonist, the "Avatar" story still has a number of dangling plot threads and unresolved conflicts that would be better served by having the adult characters still be highly active in the story to follow. When it comes to the Na'vi characters, this doesn't appear to be much of an issue; while no official source has confirmed what the average Na'vi lifespan is (the "Avatar" wiki simply says that "lifespan data is incomplete"), it's assumed that they live a percentage of time longer than humans. So, what of the human characters, especially Spider (Jack Champion), who joins the Na'vi in "Fire and Ash?" The key may lie with the whale-like Tulkun creatures and the anti-aging serum that the RDA have mined from their bodies.

As revealed in "The Way of Water," Tulkun bodies contain amrita, a liquid that the Tulkun hunter Mick Scoresby (Brendan Cowell) claims completely stops the aging process in humans when taken. (Whether it can be ingested or must be injected — either once or periodically — is still unknown.) As such, amrita has superseded unobtanium as Pandora's most coveted substance, and while the ending of "Fire and Ash" suggests that the RDA and Tulkun hunters won't be getting any more of it anytime soon, it's not known how much they already have. Thus, it's possible that people like Scorseby, General Frances Ardmore (Edie Falco), Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), and maybe even Dr. Ian Garvin (Jemaine Clement) have taken the fluid. Hence, they could continue to be major players in the next "Avatar" film, even if it's set decades after "Fire and Ash."

While it's highly unlikely that Spider, who is now one of The People, would willingly take amrita, it's possible that circumstances might lead him to do so, especially if his Na'vi brethren need him. Or, quite possibly, if his romantic attraction to Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) develops into a lasting romance, maybe he would wish to live longer for her sake. As you can see, the possibilities are vast, and this isn't even accounting for other sci-fi concepts that the "Avatar" braintrust may've cooked up. It just seems like an anti-aging serum will come into play in a big way down the line, which would make for some dramatic tension, given how it's taken over a Tulkun's literal dead body. Whatever happens, "Avatar 4" will hopefully appear before all of us get too old.

"Avatar: Fire and Ash" is in theaters everywhere.