Avatar 5 Will Depict Earth As An Over-Populated, Under-Resourced Mess
"Avatar" can be called many things, but "subtle" will never be one of them. The 2009 film's thinly-veiled commentary on the exploitation of natural resources, the colonization of indigenous lands, and the horrific treatment of entire cultures could hardly be ignored or misconstrued. ("That tree-hugger" movie was a common criticism lobbed at the film, unsurprisingly.) In fact, such broad themes likely only further lent to the universal appeal of the highest-grossing movie of all time. When the themes are so in-your-face, to the extent that they can't possibly be separated from the story itself, it's safe to say that subtlety ends up being entirely besides the point.
One aspect that was never seen in the original theatrical cut of "Avatar," however, would've made the parallels even more obvious. In the deleted scenes (restored in the extended edition of the movie), "Avatar" opens with the same voiceover by Sam Worthington's Jake Sully. This time, however, his narration about the dire circumstances on Earth are accompanied by actual footage of the wheelchair-using human making his way through society in the middle of some crowded, futuristic city. The "Blade Runner"-esque visuals underline just how seedy and grimy this version of Earth is in the year 2154, falling into disrepair for rather self-explanatory reasons.
While "Avatar: The Way of Water" puts an even finer point on it, explicitly mentioning that humanity has returned to Pandora because of the home world falling into even more alarming levels of disrepair, it turns out that future sequels will bring the action back to Earth and showcase the horrific conditions now prevalent throughout the planet. We knew some of this information already thanks to previous comments by producer Jon Landau, but he has now gone into even greater detail of what we should expect in "Avatar 5."
'There's over-population, and a depletion of our natural resources'
The tropical paradise of Pandora has always stood as one of the biggest draws bringing audiences to both "Avatar" and its recent sequel, "The Way of Water," but the situation back on Earth couldn't be more different for those unable to escape into the stars. Such dystopian conditions at least partly inspired Jake Sully to join the military's program, stepping in for his late twin brother Tommy and taking over the role that was initially meant for a much more scientifically-inclined mind. Producer Jon Landau hasn't been shy about teasing the upcoming installments of what's sure looking like an unstoppable, box office-breaking franchise, and his latest comments are no exception.
In the March 2023 issue of Empire Magazine, Landau provided a little more detail on how "Avatar 5" (the script of which, lest we forget, actor Stephen Lang stated left him "weeping") will depict Earth in all its, well, less-than-glory. But don't mistake that for a cynical, hopeless treatment of home. According to Landau:
"There's over-population, and a depletion of our natural resources that make life harder. But we don't want to paint a bleak picture for where our world is going. The films are also about the idea that we can change course."
Oh James Cameron, ever the optimist! It stands to reason that the environmentalist filmmaker would want to communicate an overriding sense of passion and enthusiasm about all we can do to reverse course for our own ailing planet, rather than apathy. If the "Avatar" movies have one positive side-effect (other than taking money that would've otherwise gone to, as he colorfully put it, "buying an oil lease off of the north of Scotland"), then let's hope it's a renewed focus on arguably our most pressing issue.