Avatar: Fire and Ashis one of themost anticipated movies of 2025, and various plot points have gradually come to light. For the first time in the franchise, this installmentwill feature a group of Na’vi that is adversarial to the other groups on Pandora.These are the Ash People, led by Oona Chaplin’s Varang.

Even without anAvatar3trailer available, there are a lot of theories surrounding the outcome of the movie. One leading theory is that James Cameron will choose tokill off Jake Sully, who has been the protagonist of the last two movies.Thedirector has already hinted at some unexpected plot developmentsin the third film, fueling this theory.

Killing Jake Sully would colossally shift the relationship dynamicsin the still-to-comeAvatar 4andAvatar 5, which are currently planned for 2029 and 2031 releases. Jake has built a family with his wife, Neytiri, and serves as the key access point for the audience to receive the story. While killing him off would change a lot, it would make several characters much more important.

5Spider

Played By Jack Champion

Spider is one of the only human charactersfeatured inAvatar: The Way of Water. He was left on Pandora years ago and raised by Jake and Neytiri alongside their three biological children and adopted daughter, Kiri. Towards the last third ofThe Way of Water, he is revealed to be Quaritch’s estranged son.

Jake and Neytiri’s biological children are Neteyam, Lo’ak, and Tuk.

Early press aboutAvatar 3hasalready suggested an expanded role for Spiderin this next installment. Afirst-look image showed Quaritch and Spider together, revealing their reunion. In an interview withEmpire, Quaritch actor Stephen Lang also revealed that the two characters “reconnect out of necessity” and out of Quaritch’s desire for answers.

Spider and Quaritch are not physically together by theend ofThe Way of Water, soFire and Ashwill have to focus on Spider enough that the characters' reunion makes sense.This greater emphasis on Spider would help facilitate a transitionto his greater franchise importance.

Spider could also be more important becausehe is a likely candidate for the next human to be transformed into a Na’vi.Having him go through this metamorphosis would be a good way to honor Jake’s story even after his potential death.

4Ronal

Played By Kate Winslet

Ronal played a critical but supporting role inAvatar: The Way of Water. She has a queen-like responsibility as the tsahìk (aka spiritual leader) of the Metkayina clan. In the sequel film,Ronal helps Jake Sully and his family learn the way of, as the title references, water,and the customs and practices of the Metkayina clan.

Ronal is one of the many underutilized female characters inAvatar: The Way of Water. As Cameron tries to reach the broadest possible audience with his internationally successful franchise,fully fleshing out more of the female characters may be the way to go.

It is also worth noting that Ronal is played by Kate Winslet, who is an Oscar winner and seven-time nominee. She also has a positive history with Cameron due to their collaboration onTitanic. As such, it would make sense to give her a more prominent role in future movies.

Story-wise, Ronal’s likely importance will really depend onhow muchAvatar: Fire and Ashends up focusing on the Metkayina clan.They were a major point of focus in the second film, but as Cameron explores the fiery side of Pandora, he may move away from the water territories.

Still, Ronal is closely connected enough with Jake and his group thather increased importance would be justified. Spirituality is also an important theme in theAvatarfranchise, so Ronal’s connection with that side of things would serve the story well.

3Quaritch

Played By Stephen Lang

Much like Jake himself, Quaritch is definitely not guaranteed to live through the events of the third movie. That said,he has proven himself to be one of the more indestructible charactersin the franchise. Even when he died in human form in 2009’sAvatar, he made it to the second film by having his consciousness and memories backed up and transferred to a Na’vi body.

Quaritch is an interesting character in thathe represents a manipulation of the same technology that Jake ends up using for good.Quaritch and Jake transition to their Na’vi counterparts in different ways, and with vastly different levels of respect for their Pandoran surroundings. Even as a Na’vi, Quaritch speaks to human nature and its fundamental flaws.

Quaritch’s reunion with Spider also indicates thatthe character could have a redemption arc inAvatar 3. He is definitely a hard character to redeem, given the atrocities he has enacted or helped commit, but if given enough time, this could be a powerful shift.

It is alsopossible that Quaritch will need more than one more film to be fully forgiven for his past actions.However, this actually means that the character would need more screen time. This would certainly increase the character’s importance within theAvatarfranchise.

2Lo’ak

Played By Britain Dalton

AfterNeteyam tragically dies inAvatar: The Way of Water, Lo’ak is the oldest surviving child of Jake and Neytiri.This puts a lot of pressure on him to carry on the Sully legacy, especially if his father ends up passing away inAvatar: Fire and Ash.

Lo’ak is already a vital character in theAvatarfranchise as it stands.He goes through significant character growth withinThe Way of Water, laying the groundwork for even more self-improvement and rising to importance in the upcoming movies.

The Water of Waterestablished one of the franchise’s emerging themes: family. This was not something explored as much in the first movie, given Jake and Neytiri were just then falling in love, but it is something that the remainingAvatarfilms are sure to explore in more depth.

For this reason, focusing further on Lo’ak would really bring out themes that are already central to the fabric of theAvatarfranchise.There is expected to be a time jump between the third and fourth movies, which would also allow audiences to grow up with Lo’ak in a way they will not be able to do inAvatar 3alone.

1Neytiri

Played By Zoe Saldaña

The most apt character to take over for Jake Sully post-mortem is his beloved wife, Neytiri. Unlike some of the other characters,she is a throughline from the original 2009 movie, and thus has years of history behind her. She understands the importance of Eywa, as well as Pandora’s history, and would make a compelling lead.

Making Neytiri into theAvatarmovies' lead, or at least a more important figure, could be an interesting way to put a twist on the ideas presented by the franchise so far.

Neytiri is already important to the franchise, but her role would be even more vital if Jake ended up dying. Her arc was not as heavily focused on inThe Way of Wateras it could be, leaving a lot of room for her to grow in the future of the franchise.

Making Neytiri into theAvatarmovies' lead, or at least a more important figure, could be an interesting way to put a twist on the ideas presented by the franchise so far. Jake was originally a human, thus accessing the world of Pandora as an outsider initially.Neytiri is native to Pandora, offering a unique perspective.

Even if Neytiri was not the main hero ofAvatar 4orAvatar 5,she would certainly be more important in the wake of Jake’s death. She would undoubtedly have opinions about Lo’ak or any of her other children’s participation in events, as well as the actions of Quaritch and his followers.

Neytiri is at the heart of theAvatarfranchise, and should be highlighted even if Jake survives the events ofAvatar: Fire and Ash. She is played by powerhouse (and recently Oscar-winning)actor Zoe Saldaña, who is likely to keep delivering great performances in what has become the most iconic role of her career.