James Cameron says Avatar 3 will introduce two new Na'vi cultures

Avatar: The Way of Water
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

The world of Pandora is about to get even bigger – Avatar 3 will introduce us to two new Na'vi cultures, according to director James Cameron.

"Fire has a symbolic purpose in the film and there’s a culture that is specifically around that concept. That’s probably saying too much as we speak," Cameron told Deadline. "You’re going to meet two completely new cultures in the next film. We met the Omaticaya, we met the Metkayina, and you’re going to meet two new cultures in the next film, and it kind of roves a little more freely around the world of Pandora to different places."

The Omaticaya are the forest-dwelling Na'vi who are the subject of the first movie, while the Metkayina, who we're introduced to in Avatar: The Way of Water, live on Pandora's coast. As we're definitely getting fire Na'vi in the third movie and we've already encountered earth and water-based clans, it's possible that the other new culture could be an airborne tribe to complete the four elements. Perhaps we'll ascend the mountains of Pandora in the third movie?

One thing we are getting in the next film, though, is some more morally complex Na'vi. "In the early films, there are very negative human examples and very positive Na’vi examples. In Avatar 3, we will do the opposite," Cameron previously told French publication 20 Minutes.

Avatar 3 is currently scheduled to hit the big screen on December 20, 2024. While we wait, check out our guide to the most exciting movie release dates coming our way in 2023. 

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
Avatar
First look at new Avatar 3 location is "the exact opposite" of the vibrant Pandora we saw in James Cameron's first two movies
Avatar: The Way of Water
Fresh look at new Avatar 3 clan revealed as James Cameron teases that the series is trying to evolve beyond the "'all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good' paradigm"
Zoe Saldaña in Avatar
James Cameron had "too many great ideas" for Avatar: The Way of Water, so the cut content became Avatar 3 which "will actually be a little bit longer" than its 3-hour predecessor
Avatar
James Cameron says that Avatar 3 will make "brave choices" even if that means the audience going "f*** that's not what I signed up for"
Avatar: The Way of Water
Avatar 3 release date, cast, story, and everything else you need to know
Sam Worthington in Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron's early cut of Avatar 3 is "absolutely breathtaking," according to Disney CEO Bob Iger
Latest in Sci-Fi Movies
John Boyega in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
John Boyega was tired of "doing a lot of falling" in the Star Wars sequels, so asked director J.J. Abrams for a "level of growth" between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker
Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars fans have ignited an age-old debate, and there are some seriously hot takes
Sam Worthington in Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron's early cut of Avatar 3 is "absolutely breathtaking," according to Disney CEO Bob Iger
Pacific Rim
The 35 greatest 2010s sci-fi movies
Godzilla emerging from an exploding volcano.
Win a Blu-ray of Godzilla vs Biollante
The Mandalorian and Grogu
The Mandalorian and Grogu has the lowest budget of any theatrical Star Wars movie since Disney bought Lucasfilm
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"