Avatar shattered records at the box office and hearts in cinemas everywhere as the Na'vi found themselves being driven from their home, Pandora, by the menacing RDA. In the film, the Na'vi are incredibly protective of their society and have formed very few connections with the humans who are using their home planet to mine precious resources.
Avatar follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a marine coming to grips with a life-altering injury from his service, who is called on for a special mission working among the Na'vi with the science team. Using advanced technologies, Jake is able to inhabit a specially grown Na'vi body, so he can connect with the natives. Surprisingly, his military background, determination to learn their ways, and his comion endear him to the Na'vi people like no other human before. Jake forms a relationship with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), and her people invite him in as one of their own. As the movie concludes, Jake fully assimilates, and the Na'vi transfer his consciousness into his avatar.
Over a decade later, Avatar 2 is about to be released, and while the first movie established the proud Na'vi as a highly reserved race rooted in their traditions, the promotional material for Avatar 2 indicates that some less savory characters have also been given the immense honor of becoming a Na'vi. Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the main antagonist from Avatar, now has a Na'vi body, and this change is likely permanent as he didn't survive the first movie as a human. Unfortunately, turning Quaritch and others into Na'vi risks cheapening Jake's transformation, one of Avatar's most impactful moments. The character endured a lot to be accepted by the Na'vi people, and there's an understandable concern that work will be for naught if others, even villains, can easily transform in Avatar 2.
How Avatar 2 Can Avoid Hurting Jake's Na'vi Transformation
Avatar 2's trailer reveals that Jake and Neytiri are now raising their family on Pandora before the old enemies reappear with new faces. It is likely that Quaritch and his troops have had Na'vi bodies grown especially for them to be able to navigate more easily on Pandora. Afterward, the soldiers can easily follow the same process that Jake did in Avatar to control the Na'vi body. While this may seem worryingly similar to Jake's storyline in the first movie, it's worth ing that Quaritch and the others will likely become Na'vi for selfish reasons, which will help Jake's transformation stand apart.
Another figure from the first film will also appear in a new body for Avatar 2. Sigourney Weaver, who played Grace Augustine in Avatar, was killed by Quaritch, but she will be returning for the sequel as Kiri, the adopted daughter of Jake and Neytiri. Jake attempted to transfer Grace's consciousness to her Avatar body at the Tree of Souls, but was unsuccessful. While Eywa, the life force of the planet, may have stored Grace's essence to restore her in a new body, at face value, Weaver is playing a new character. Like Quaritch and the others, this makes her transformation quite a bit different from Jake's. All signs point to Avatar 2 finding a way to include familiar faces as Na'vi characters without lessening the impact of Jake's change.
