Summary
Avatar: The Way of Waterwas a great continuation of the 2009Avatar, but it did manage to repeat James Cameron’s original movie in eight big ways. Due toAvatar: The Way of Waterbeing a sequel toAvatar, it makes sense that both films share a lot of parallels. TheAvatarfranchise is linked together by a common story, characters, and themes, meaning that the DNA of each film will be essentially the same as the series continues on. However,it is hard not to notice some of these parallels inAvatar: The Way of Water, like these eight.
After13 years of waiting for a sequel to 2009’sAvatar,Avatar: The Way of Waterwas finally released in 2022, with it overall exceeding fan expectations. In the years since its release, however, some viewers have begun to criticize the similarities betweenAvatar: The Way of WaterandAvatar. Some have held the position that the sequel is a retreat of the original made for a new generation. There are definitely some moments of repetition, but others argue that these parallels are used to hit home the thematic purpose of theAvatarfranchise.
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8Miles Quaritch Returned As The Main Villain In Avatar 2
But He Is An Avatar In The Sequel
The most commonly pointed out parallel betweenAvatarandAvatar: The Way of Wateris that Miles Quaritch was the main villain in both films. In the originalAvatar,Miles Quaritch is the face of the RDA on Pandora, with him leading the conquest against the Na’vi in order for humanity to obtain unobtanium. Throughout his time on Pandora, Quaritch started a rivalry with his former soldier Jake Sully, leading to him developing a hatred for the Na’vi that carried over into the sequel.
WhileQuaritch does return as the main villain ofAvatar: The Way of Water, the film does change his character significantly. In the sequel, it is actually a different version of the character, with an Avatar replica of Quaritch replacing the dead human version. This Na’vi Quaritch does still hate Jake Sully, but the film spends a lot more time fleshing him out, making him far less of a one-dimensional bad guy. Quaritch’s relationship with his son Spider is one of the main focuses of the original, adding more layers to this repeat of the original movie.
7A Main Character Has To Get Used To Their Avatar Body
Jake Sully & Quaritch
The eponymous scientific gimmick of theAvatarfranchise is one of the main storylines in James Cameron’s original film, and while the Avatar project does play less of a role in the sequel, the role it does play is almost exactly the same as in the 2009 movie. In 2009’sAvatar, the first half of the film almost entirely centers on Jake Sully attempting to adapt to his Avatar body, with him training with the RDA in order to learn how to live among the Na’vi. Then, much of the movie is dedicated to him assimilating with the Na’vi.
Avatar: The Way of Wateralso repeats this storyline, althoughColonel Quaritch is the one getting used to an Avatar body rather than Jake Sully. Upon awakening inAvatar: The Way of Water, Quaritch’s Avatar has never been alive, meaning that he has to figure out how to operate with his new physicality. This aspect of Quaritch’s story is less significant than it was when Jake Sully went through it in the original film, but it is a major way thatAvatar: The Way of Watercopies the first film.
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6The Big Death Just Before The Final Battle
Dr. Grace & Neteyam
TheAvatarfranchise has a lot of characters, but two of the most popular members of the franchise have been killed off right before the final battle in order to add an extra layer of emotion to the climax. In the originalAvatar,Sigourney Weaver’s Dr. Graceserved this purpose, with her dying and being taken by the Spirit Tree. This is thesaddest moment in the originalAvatar, and while she did return in some form through the birth of Kiri, it still adds a lot of emotion toAvatar’s final battle.
A similar story point happens inAvatar: The Way of Water, although this time it is Neteyam who is killed off.Neteyam’s death inAvatar: The Way of Wateris truly tragic, with it being required by the story to motivate Jake Sully, Neytiri, and Lo’ak to finish their character arcs. It makes sense that bothAvatarmovies would kill off a character in order to achieve their second act low points, but when looking back on the franchise, it becomes clear that this story beat is a little repetitious.
5Loak’s Tulkun Replaced Jake’s Toruk
The Na’vi Have To Collaborate With Nature
One of the major themes of theAvatarmovies is living in harmony and collaboration with nature, something that it hits home through the characters' relationships with the wildlife of Pandora. In the original film, a lot of focus is given to the relationship between Jake Sully and his toruk, also known as a great leonopteryx.Avatarhighlights that this beast is almost impossible to tame, withonly a few Na’vi before Jake being able to become Toruk Makto. However, Jake pulls it off, with him successfully taming his animal.
This thematic point is again reinforced inAvatar: The Way of Water, but instead of it focusing on Jake and his toruk, the film focuses on Lo’ak and his relationship with his tulkun. Despite the tulkun being portrayed as large beasts at the beginning of the film, Lo’ak manages to bond with one of the whale-like creatures.Avatar: The Way of Waterspends a lot of time focusing on the relationship between Lo’ak and his tulkun spirit brother Payakan, paralleling the relationship between Jake and his tulkun in the original film.
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4The Story Revolves Around A Precious Resource From Pandora
Unobtanium & Amrita
Another one of the most obvious ways thatAvatar: The Way of Waterrepeats the originalAvataris that both stories revolve around a precious resource that exists only on Pandora. The originalAvatarfamously features the mineral unobtanium, with this material being what drives the RDA’s conquest of Pandora and the subsequent conflicts with the Na’vi. In the film,unobtanium is treated like a required MacGuffin that allows the story to happen, although it isn’t anywhere near the most interesting part of the film.
Avatar: The Way of Wateralso needs to have humans extracting Pandora of its resources, but rather than continue the unobtanium storyline, the sequel introduces another precious resource. In the sequel, the humans are after amrita, a liquid that is produced by the tulkun. Humans can useamrita to slow the aging process, with the Na’vi having to protect the tulkun from human whalers throughout the film. The amrita is the MacGuffin ofAvatar: The Way of Water, taking a page out of the originalAvatar’s book.
3The Villainous Force Is Greedy RDA Humans
It Could’ve Been More Original
While Colonel Quaritch is the main antagonist of bothAvatarfilms, he is only the face of a larger force known as the RDA. The RDA is the overarching villainous organization of theAvatarmovies, with them being introduced in the first film as a militarized company from Earth that wants to extract Pandora of its natural resources in order to enrich humanity.
Unfortunately,the RDA’s story purpose in both films is almost exactly the same, with their plans and methods being incredibly similar. This makes the RDA’s storyline feel a bit repetitive and boring in bothAvatarmovies, with there being all kinds of other options for villainous forces. It has been teased thatAvatar 3will feature Na’vi villains, with this addition to the film being exactly what the franchise needs in order to shake up its stale villain formula.
2Jake Sully Has To Earn Acceptance From A Na’vi Clan
Although It Is Two Different Clans
While the Na’vi are fighting off the RDA throughout the originalAvatar, the true character conflict in the first film is between Jake Sully and his desire to be accepted by the Na’vi. While Jake Sully does find solace in Na’vi like Neytiri, many members of the clan do not want to take Jake Sully in, knowing that he isn’t a true Na’vi. Throughout the originalAvatar,Jake Sully has to earn the trust of the Na’vi while also learning how to assimilate into their culture, something that he successfully does by the end of the film.
Avatar: The Way of Waterrepeats this storyline, with Jake Sully again having to earn acceptance from a Na’vi clan. This time, however, the Sully family is at odds with theMetkayina Na’vi clan, with them seeking refuge among the water-based tribe. Again, these Na’vi are hesitant to accept Jake and his family, but after they prove their loyalty and worth, they are fully welcomed into the tribe.
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1They Were Both Huge Box Office Hits
Some Of The Highest-Grossing Movies Of All Time
The final way thatAvatar: The Way of Waterrepeated the originalAvatarwasn’t intentional, although it was undoubtedly a welcome repeat. BothAvatarmovies were massive box office hits, with each film making over $2 billion. While the originalAvatardid make more thanAvatar: The Way of Water, the massive box office return of both films put them in the ranking of the highest-grossing movies of all time, with the sequel paralleling the surprising success of the original film.
This is undoubtedly a trend that James Cameron and the rest of theAvatarteam will want to repeat with the subsequent sequels. The next threeAvatarfilms are all in the works, and it is possible that they could capitalize on the hype ofAvatar: The Way of Waterin order to succeed. While it will be nice to seeAvatarmove on from some of these repetitious story beats, fans of the franchise would be ecstatic to see the box office success ofAvatarandAvatar: The Way of Watercontinue.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Cast
Avatar: The Way of Water, set more than a decade after the original film, follows the Sully family as they face threats to their survival. With Jake and Neytiri at the helm, they strive to protect their children while combating external perils and confronting personal losses.
