Neytiri rages in first official pic from Avatar: Fire and Ash

Avatar and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, are respectively the highest grossing and third highest grossing movies in history. Will the upcoming threequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash, join the club?

We'll find out at the end of this year. In the meanwhile, Empire has the first official shot from the movie: Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) baring her teeth in rage and aiming a weapon at someone:

In The Way of Water, Neytiri, her husband Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and their children settled with the Metkayina clan of Na'vi, who live near the sea. At the end of the movie, their eldest son Neteyam is killed by humans, which sent Neytiri into a rage from which she hasn't quite recovered, or at least that's how Zoe Saldaña makes it sound. “That pain is seamlessly followed up on,” she told Empire. “And because it doesn’t really have anywhere to go, and doesn’t go away, rage can also come from it. [The Sullys] are going to be tested as a family.”

"Not only would everything that’s happening compel her to question the bond she has with her husband, but also her bond with herself, her people, her land, and the way the Na’vi are. She’s going to question everything."

It sounds like Neytiri will be having a rough time of it in Avatar 3. She'll also have to deal with Mangkwan Ash Clan, another tribe of Na'vi who are more warlike than the ones we've already met. Apparently Neytiri will "meet her match" in Varang, the leader of the Ash Clan played by Game of Thrones veteran Oona Chaplin.

None of the Na'vi like the human beings who are mining for resources on their home moon of Pandora, but the Ash Clan might be particularly hostile towards them. I wonder if Neytiri will see the wisdom in that way of thinking, for better or worse.

Or maybe the movie will be more about Na'vi-vs-Na'vi conflict, I'm just speculating. Whatever happens, we can be sure that Saldaña's performance will be as compelling as ever. “Zoe is incandescent in this film,” said director James Cameron. “[I]n [Fire And Ash], that goes way beyond what you’ve seen before.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash screams into movies theaters on December 19. After that, Cameron and co have another two movies planned before this epic sci-fi (looks up word) pentalogy comes to a close.

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