Daven Tamayo

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ dives back into cinemas ahead of ‘Fire and Ash’

Article (news)

Ralph Revelar Sarza

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1759395303463Avatar.jpg" style="width:750px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>“Avatar: The Way of Water” has splashed back onto the big screen for a one-week engagement, playing in select 3D, IMAX, and 4DX theaters across the Philippines. The comeback builds momentum for the saga’s next chapter, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” arriving this December.</p><p>On Wednesday, October 1, I joined fellow members of the media and invited influencers for a special IMAX 3D screening at SM Megamall, an event that brought the Sullys’ ocean adventure back in its most immersive form. The screening also treated us to a sneak peek at the upcoming third film, teasing what’s to come in Cameron’s expanding epic.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>How we got here: A refresher on Pandora</strong></div><div><strong></strong><em>[Spoiler alert: The following section contains key plot details from both “Avatar” (2009) and “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022).]</em><em></em><strong><em></em></strong></div><p>The story began in 2009, when audiences first met Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-Marine who stepped into his twin brother’s place in the Avatar Program. Piloting a Na’vi body at the behest of the Resources Development Administration (RDA), Jake was initially tasked to infiltrate the Omaticaya clan and help secure the rare mineral unobtanium</p><p>Instead, his bond with Neytiri drew him into the Na’vi’s struggle. He learned to fight with them, discovered their connection to Eywa, and eventually led them against humanity’s destructive greed. After the fall of Hometree and the climactic battle against Colonel Quaritch, Jake chose Pandora for good, transferring his consciousness permanently into his Na’vi body. Humanity was driven away, but not forever.</p><p>More than a decade later, “The Way of Water” picked up with Jake and Neytiri as parents. Their family included Neteyam (the responsible eldest son), Lo’ak (the headstrong second child who often felt like an outsider), Tuk (the youngest), and Kiri (their adopted daughter, born mysteriously from Grace Augustine’s dormant avatar). They also raised Spider, a human boy who grew up as one of their own despite being Quaritch’s son.</p><p>The RDA returned to Pandora with colonization on their minds. Even more shocking was the resurrection of Quaritch himself in a recombinant Na’vi body. To protect their clan, Jake and his family sought refuge with the Metkayina, the reef-dwelling Na’vi who live by the way of water. The Sullys had to learn a new way of life — breathing, swimming, and connecting with the sea and its creatures. Lo’ak’s bond with Payakan, an outcast tulkun, became central to the film and highlighted the Na’vi’s profound kinship with Pandora’s marine life.</p><p>The peace didn’t last. The RDA began hunting tulkun for amrita, a substance in their brains that halts human aging, devastating the oceans and the Metkayina. This set the stage for a massive confrontation aboard a whaling vessel, where the Sullys and their new allies clashed with Quaritch’s forces. In the chaos, Neteyam was killed while rescuing his siblings, leaving Jake and Neytiri shattered. Though the family triumphed, Quaritch survived once more, saved secretly by Spider. In the end, the Sullys declared the reef their new home, stronger together despite their loss.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>What’s next</strong><strong><br/></strong></div><p>The re-release builds anticipation for “Fire and Ash,” which promises to expand Pandora’s world once again and continue the Sullys’ struggle against Quaritch and humanity’s colonizing forces. </p><p>For those ready to dive in again, or for the first time, “Avatar: The Way of Water” is back in cinemas this week. It reopens the story of a family bound by loss and resilience, while hinting at how much further Cameron intends to test both his characters and his audience.</p>

<p>“Avatar: The Way of Water” has splashed back onto the big screen for a one-week engagement, playing in select 3D, IMAX, and 4DX theaters across the Philippines.</p>

“Avatar: The Way of Water” has splashed back onto the big screen for a one-week engagement, playing in select 3D, IMAX, and 4DX theaters across the Philippines.