Oona Chaplin Revealed as Fierce New Villain in 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'

The upcoming film Avatar: Fire and Ash has introduced its new main villain. The makers shared the first look at Varang, the antagonist of the Ash Clan, played by Oona Chaplin. According to Variety, she will be one of the key enemies of Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington) in Avatar 3.

A post on the official Avatar account on X (formerly Twitter) confirmed that the trailer for this sequel will be shown only in theatres before screenings of Fantastic Four: First Steps. The caption said, “Meet Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash. You can be one of the first to see the trailer, only in theatres this weekend with The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

Upcoming Release Dates and Trailer Details

Avatar: 'Fire and Ash' is scheduled to release this year in the month of December. The next two movies in the series, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5, are planned for December 21, 2029, and December 19, 2031. The trailer’s first sneak peek was presented at CinemaCon in April by director James Cameron, who introduced the emotional and dramatic tone of the film.

Avatar-Fire and Ash: Makers unveil first poster of James Cameron directorial, introduce new antagonist

New Clans and Story Insights

Zoe Saldana, who returns as Neytiri, introduced the trailer footage. She said the film explores Pandora further and brings in 2 new clans—the Wind Traders and the Ash People. The footage showed Neytiri telling Jake, “The strength of the ancestors is here,” followed by an intense battle scene where Jake urges Neytiri to release her anger. It ends with a dramatic line: “We cannot defeat this enemy that comes from the stars.”

Franchise Success and Future Plans

The Avatar franchise has seen great success. The original 2009 film earned $2.9 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing movie ever. The second film, The Way of Water, released in 2022, made $2.3 billion globally.

The upcoming movie Avatar: Fire and Ash has a total duration of 3 hours and 12 minutes, mentioned Cameron. This movie is longer in duration in comparison to the previous one. The story will follow Jake and Neytiri’s family as they deal with loss and face a new and dangerous tribe.

The main cast are Kate Winslet, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Cliff Curtis, and many others who are part of the cast. Director James Cameron still plans to release five films in the Avatar series.