James Cameron’s elastic world-building creates endless possibilities for how his sequel Avatar: The Way of Water brings viewers back to the alien world of Pandora and prepares them for a journey that will span Avatar 3, 4, and maybe 5. Part of the drive for Cameron was working with actors he loved; even though the characters played by Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang both “died” (we’ll get to that) in the 2009 Avatar, they both return in the sequel in new forms.
Weaver’s new character, Kiri — Jake Sully’s teen Na’vi daughter — becomes the central mystery to the past, present, and future of Pandora. Parentage questions tend to be fun preoccupations for franchise storytelling — consider Star Wars’ obsession with Luke Skywalker’s or Rey’s parents, or Game of Thrones’ endless teasing about Jon Snow’s mother. And the Avatar series is no different, with Avatar 2 raising the burning question: Who is Kiri’s father? The film’s context clues and Weaver’s own commentary shed light on what will likely be a key question in Avatar 3 and beyond. Years after the events of Avatar, The Way of Water sees Jake Sully and Neytiri happily bonded and caring for a blended family.
Along with their three biological children (two sons, Neteyam and Lo’ak, and a young girl, Tuk), they now care for a surrogate human son, Spider, and Kiri, born from the avatar of Dr. Grace Augustine (Weaver) while she’s in suspended animation. The notion that Grace’s comatose Na’vi body conceived and birthed a child while floating in an avatar holding chamber is, uh, a tough world-building nut to crack. And Cameron doesn’t really crack it! Instead, Kiri’s conception and roots blossom into The Way of Water’s weirdest plotline.
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