James Cameron revealed that he trashed an entire Avatar 2 script before making Avatar, which used groundbreaking special effects and incredible world-building to tell a story that was layered with important themes and rich subtext. Cameron restarting his Avatar 2 script proves that the director wants to make a thematically similar story, one that will probably be seen in Avatar: The Way of Water.
In an interview, Avatar director James Cameron revealed that he spent a year writing a script titled Avatar: The Higher Ground only to toss it out, saying "the script didn’t play enough by ‘Avatar’ rules, which is to connect us to the dream world, that which has a spiritual component that we can’t even quite quantify in words." This level of dedication is good news for the sequel, as some audiences feared that Avatar sequels would be rapidly pumped out in order to capitalize off the success of the original. However, this is clearly not the case, considering the 13-year gap between films. Since James Cameron didn't like the original script due to its lack of spirituality, it only makes sense to assume that Avatar: The Way of Water will be full of it.
Cameron's Scrapped Avatar Sequel Makes Sense
Themes of spirituality are incredibly important to the world of Avatar, with the Na'vi having many sacred locations that hold spiritual significance. Two major examples are the Tree of Souls (Ayvitrayä Ramunong in Na'vi) and the Well of Souls, the latter of which was added to Pandora in the expanded Avatar universe. The names of both of these locations directly reference spirits and the afterlife, with the Tree of Souls even having some healing abilities. Furthermore, the various Na'vi clans each have different beliefs and customs, with Jake Sully learning those of the Omaticaya clan in the first Avatar.
With these themes so key to the world of Avatar, it would be incredibly strange for an Avatar sequel to throw out the spirituality that was so significant to the first film. Because of this, James Cameron was right to restart Avatar 2's script, as an Avatar sequel without these themes isn't really an Avatar sequel at all. Luckily, it seems that the spiritual themes will be returning in Avatar: The Way of Water, as Cameron has made clear that he wouldn't be happy with a sequel if those themes weren't featured.
Avatar 2's Original Plan Hints Why Kiri Is Important
James Cameron's desire for spirituality in Avatar further proves that Kiri will be important in Avatar: The Way of Water. In the film, Kiri is a young Na'vi who will be played by Sigourney Weaver, who also played a human named Dr. Grace that died in the first Avatar. It's been heavily speculated that Kiri will be a reincarnation or a child of Dr. Grace, and the presence of spiritual themes in Avatar: The Way of Water makes the return of Grace in the form of Kiri even more likely.
