Avatar 4 And 5 Will Highlight The Creator Of The Avatar Program, After Being Cut From The First Movie

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It may be difficult to believe but, despite being three movies into the "Avatar" franchise, there's still plenty about this world that we don't fully know. We've seen miracle births, confirmation that Pandora's goddess Eywa actually exists, inexplicable hybridization rituals between humans and Na'vi ... and that was all just in "Fire & Ash." Each sequel seems to pose more questions than answers, but audiences may not have even clocked that there's still a very important question hanging overhead just waiting to be resolved. In fact, this dates back to the first film in 2009.

That tidbit (and many more like it) comes courtesy of author Joe Fordham's "The Making of Avatar" book, which reveals extensive background information concerning "Avatar," "The Way of Water," and "Fire & Ash." Published late last year, the book includes one fascinating glimpse into what mastermind James Cameron intends to explore in the fourth and five "Avatar" movies — assuming they get made, of course. It involves the Avatar Program that gives this franchise its name and the origins of this technology. To date, all we really know from the original movie is that Sigourney Weaver's Dr. Grace Augustine is the de facto scientific leader of this mission, but how did she get to that position in the first place? Those are the questions Cameron asked himself during the screenwriting process. As he explained in an interview in the book:

"When did [Grace] arrive on Pandora? Who was her mentor? How did she wind up inheriting the Avatar Program? I came up with a backstory around Grace and the guy that she wound up replacing, her mentor, the founder of the Avatar Program, Brantley Giess."

That character, however, never made it to the final draft of "Avatar."

What if things aren't as simple as they may seem in "Avatar"? The 2009 film presents a fairly straightforward narrative. (Well, as "straightforward" as it gets when dealing with humans on an alien world and inhabiting manufactured "Recombinant" bodies of the indigenous population, thousands of light-years from Earth.) But it's what we didn't see in the franchise-starting blockbuster that stands to loom large in the movies to come: namely, the true creator of the Avatar Program.

In "The Making of Avatar," writer Joe Fordham explains that James Cameron's original plans for Brantley Giess ultimately required some major streamlining during the writing process. According to the book, the director paired up with writer Laeta Kalogridis (known for "Shutter Island," "Alita: Battle Angel," the Netflix series "Altered Carbon," and last year's "Another Simple Favor") to pare things back and revise the structure of the first "Avatar" film. Much of Brantley Giess' dialogue was instead given to Sigourney Weaver's Grace, while Brantley himself was removed entirely. This rewriting went down in the Spring of 2006, apparently, providing a rare glimpse into the incredibly long development these films have gone through.

Should things proceed as Cameron intends, however, that won't spell the end for this mysterious figure. Fordham notes that, "Though he ultimately isn't seen in 'Avatar,' Giess becomes an important part of the ongoing story, which will be revealed in 'Avatar 4' and '5.'" That's just another reason to hope that "Fire & Ash" performs well enough at the box office to justify more return trips to Pandora.