Avatar: Fire and Ash releases in theaters this December, with Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), and Tuk (Trinity Bliss), among others, all set to continue their fight against the invading human forces.

Now, Empire shares a new piece of concept art from the third Avatar movie, showing Lo'ak riding an ilu through vibrant blue water, surrounded by other Pandoran marine life. "It was spectacular," screenwriter Amanda Silver, who co-wrote the second and third movies with Rick Jaffa, says of seeing concept art during the writers' room. "You’re talking about a character deeply for days and days, and all of a sudden there they are." Check out the concept art below:

In addition to the new concept art, the Empire story includes comments from Cameron, Silver, and Jaffa, about what's to come from the story and characters in Fire and Ash, a movie that almost didn't exist at all. Cameron explains that they ultimately decided to split Avatar: The Way of Water into two movies during the writing process because there wasn't enough room for character exploration:

“In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2. The [film] was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character. So I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to split it.’”

“The characters needed to breathe," Silver agrees. "These movies are a lot more than just propulsive plot and gorgeous spectacle. I mean, these are real characters." This focus on both character and spectacle means Fire and Ash won't be a short movie. Cameron reveals that “movie 3 will actually be a little bit longer than movie 2," which featured a runtime of three hours and 12 minutes. He also touches on the parallels between the characters in the movie and the lives of him and the writers:

“These characters are amalgams of us, our childhoods, our role as parents, the mistakes we made, and probably to some extent continue to make as parents. I mean, Jake is a hard-ass motherf**ker. He’s very hard on his kids. Well, that’s me.”

Jaffa adds to this, revealing that there are some major similarities between one character dynamic in The Way of Water and a dynamic he shared with a family member:

“A good friend of mine who saw Way Of Water — a woman I grew up with — wrote to me after she’d seen it, and said that the relationship between Lo’ak and Neteyam reminded her of the relationship I had with my older brother.”

What The Avatar 3 Concept Art Means For Fire & Ash

Lo'ak Will Play A Bigger Role Moving Forward

Lo'ak's brother, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), dies during the events of Avatar: The Way of Water, and it's clear that Lo'ak feels responsible. Neteyam's death also forms a rift between him and his father, Jake, though the two seem to have a stronger bond when the credits start to roll. Lo'ak's journey is set to take center stage in Avatar: Fire and Ash, and Cameron has previously revealed that, unlike the first two movies, Lo'ak will narrate this adventure.

It's not clear what the context is for the Fire and Ash concept art above, but it is further confirmation that The Way of Water's aquatic environment will be sticking around. This water environment will be in addition to the introduction of an antagonistic new Na'vi clan called the Mangkwan, who live inside a destroyed Home Tree, as well as a new sky clan called the Wind Traders. Fire and Ash's ending has also been teased to feature an epic battle that takes place across air, land, and sea.

Oona Chaplin will play Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash, the leader of the Mangkwan, aka the Ash People.

Our Take On The Avatar 3 Concept Art & Runtime

Why The Long Runtime May Not Hurt Fire & Ash

Jake remains a key Sully family, like Kiri and Tuk, could also come to play bigger roles as they grow.

The Way of Water was over three hours and still managed to become the third highest-grossing movie of all time.

As for the movie's long runtime, there's reason to believe it won't be a major audience deterrent. The Way of Water was over three hours and still managed to become the third highest-grossing movie of all time. Hopefully, though, Avatar: Fire and Ash's runtime remains manageable, as there will be a point at which the movie is simply too long for general audiences, regardless of quality.

Source: Empire