A Major Avatar: Fire And Ash Reveal Was Originally Written For Way Of The Water

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

James Cameron makes a lot of insane decisions when it comes to his "Avatar" sequels. But to his credit, he walked the walk in playing the long game of bringing most of them to fruition, with one of the wildest being the return of Sigourney Weaver. While Dr. Grace Augustine would return in small glimpses, it was bringing the "Aliens" actor in to play her 14-year-old daughter Kiri that made it seem like Big Jim had truly gone off the deep end. We all once again had to learn the hard lesson of never doubting Cameron in the wake of Weaver's performance blowing us away. It not only brought about questions of how the folks at Wētā FX were able to make this cinematic sorcery happen, but also how Kiri was conceived in-universe to begin with.

After Grace dies in the first "Avatar," her Na'vi body is kept under observation in an amino tank. In "The Way of Water," however, we learn that she became mysteriously pregnant not too long afterwards, with no one having any idea of how Kiri came to be. We see the adopted daughter of the Sully family sharing similar traits to her mom, such as her fascination with the many ecosystems of Pandora. It all feels right to her, although the lack of answers as to Kiri's conception is takes a toll on her self-worth. She often runs into trouble whenever she attempts to connect with Eywa, the goddess of the Na'vi people. We finally learn how Kiri came to be in "Fire and Ash," but the original plan was to lay it all out in "The Way of Water."

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Weaver talked about how the revelation behind Kiri's Eywa-assisted conception was rewritten for "Fire and Ash" because it would it better serve her development:

"It was originally going to be brought up in two and Jim rewrote it for three, and I think because she's a little further along, a little older. The way I experienced it, shooting it right alongside two, I was completely hysterical — because filming it came very soon after my saying my father was a brave Na'vi warrior and blah, blah, blah. The making fun of me and who my father was, that really struck me to the quick. In the movie, obviously, this is more because I'm having seizures — they feel they have to tell me something."

A common criticism of "Fire and Ash" is that it feels too similar to "The Way of Water." It might make sense on a surface level since both films were the result of one screenplay getting too big for Cameron's ambitions. But the genius of "Fire and Ash" is that it thematically acts as a response to the last movie, especially with Kiri. It's more compelling to have this air of mystery surrounding this strange new character in the second movie who clearly has a deep bond with Pandora that she can feel, but can't explain. We witness the extent of her abilities knowing that the answers will come soon. It makes the revelation that Kiri was the result of Eywa planting a seed in Grace's Na'vi body during the failed consciousness transfer much more impactful.

What I find so interesting about Kiri is not so much the scientific extent of her relationship with Eywa. After "The Way of Water," I already figured she was in the Anakin Skywalker camp of being conceived without a father, so Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri's (Zoe Saldaña) big talk didn't come as a huge surprise. I was moved, however, by Kiri's journey and how it led her to discover the emotional truths hiding in plain sight. Eywa is such a magnificent force that lives and breathes throughout Pandora. She not only metaphorically speaks to Kiri through the woodsprites and Gill Mantles, but through her ability to help Spider (Jack Champion) breathe without a mask. It's a frustrating disconnect for her, yet it feels right.

Eywa is personified in "Fire and Ash" as a massive being that partially resembles the star child from "2001: A Space Odyssey," which is fitting considering Dr. Bowman (Kier Dullea) also never receives verbal confirmation of his metamorphosis. Having Kiri confront her insecurities of being seen as a freak or a clone as a result of the Great Mother fits much better here than it would have in the already packed "Way of Water." Even though Weaver had already shot it in the context of the second film, Cameron moving it to "Fire and Ash" allows Kiri more breathing room to let this moment feel more important. She can see the face of Eywa after going through the personal trials that made her feel at odds with all of the other Na'vi. It's also a great parallel with the villainous Varang (Oona Chaplin), who chooses hatred over her missing connection with Eywa.