It is very laborious to observe Avatar: The Method of Water‘s opening scene with out considering Jake Sully is destined to die sooner reasonably than later. Whereas many would argue that Pandora itself is the Avatar franchise’s fundamental character, Sam Worthington’s Jake has served as lead protagonist throughout each the unique 2009 film and its 2022 sequel.
Worthington returns for the upcoming third entry, 2025’s Avatar: Fireplace & Ash, however James Cameron’s sci-fi saga is not stopping at a trilogy. No less than two further Avatar films are in growth, and if the Na’vi proceed to ship massive field workplace bucks, it is unlikely the IP will likely be given a well-earned relaxation after its fifth installment.
Avatar: The Method of Water proved that the franchise’s profitability is not holding Cameron again from making laborious story calls, with the sequel killing off Jake and Neytiri’s son, Neteyam, in a surprisingly brutal flip of occasions. There are already theories that Jake could possibly be subsequent on the chopping block, and rewatching the sequel’s opening minutes, it is troublesome to see some other end result for the Sully household.
How Avatar: The Method Of Water’s Opening Line Seals Jake Sully’s Destiny
Jake Predicts His Personal Future
Avatar: The Method of Water opens with “The forests of Pandora maintain many risks, however probably the most harmful factor about Pandora is that you could be develop to like her an excessive amount of.” The road has numerous functions to Jake Sully’s arc all through the Avatar saga up to now, and primarily acts as foreshadowing for Neteyam’s dying later within the film. The loss is a steep, painful value in Jake’s battle to avoid wasting Pandora from the treacherous RDA.
A cheerful ending for Jake Sully is narratively unimaginable.
From one other perspective, nevertheless, the road may very simply be establishing Jake’s personal destiny. The reference to Pandora’s “risks” performs as a direct mirror of Quaritch’s speech from the primary film, again when Jake was a easy recruit touchdown on the moon for the very first time.
The rookies have been warned of all of the natural world that would kill them ought to they step outdoors the RDA’s compound, and Quaritch’s facial scar is highlighted as a visceral demonstration of how badly issues can go improper.
Jake’s opening line in Avatar: The Method of Water nearly acts as a response to that – correcting Quaritch by stating that loving Pandora is much extra prone to show deadly than a toxic plant or a hungry animal. Due to that parallel to the recommendation he acquired from Quaritch within the first Avatar, it makes way more sense that Jake’s ominous warning in The Method of Water is definitely a precursor to his personal dying, not Neteyam’s.
The road additionally places James Cameron ready the place a cheerful ending for Jake Sully is narratively unimaginable. If a personality brazenly spells out that probably the most harmful factor about a spot is falling in love with it, they’re extremely unlikely to get a happily-ever-after wherein they go away peacefully surrounded by members of the family at a ripe previous age.
Avatar: The Method of Water‘s introduction units the board in such a manner that Jake’s love for Pandora should, a method or one other, be the reason for his demise. The one query is when it’s going to occur.
Why Avatar: Fireplace & Ash Is The Proper Time To Kill Off Jake Sully
Jake’s Capability For Intrigue Was A Three-Film Deal
The largest drawback with James Cameron’s first Avatar film was its lack of depth. Using on a wave of three-dimensional euphoria and state-of-the-art CGI, 2009’s story left one thing to be desired. Basically Pocahontas in house, Jake Sully felt like a cookie-cutter protagonist bordering on a white savior trope.
Avatar: The Method of Water, in equity, rectifies that subject to a sure extent, redefining Jake as a extra conflicted, layered, and (satirically) three-dimensional creation. And but it might nonetheless be a gargantuan stretch to counsel that the character of Jake Sully comprises sufficient depth and longevity to maintain 5 or extra films.
Fireplace & Ash is unquestionably the purpose the place Jake’s intrigue because the main determine of a sprawling film sequence expires. Avatar: The Method of Water already began establishing Lo’ak – one other of Jake’s sons – as a possible alternative, however with Spider and Kiri additionally coming to the fore with fascinating private arcs, Avatar reveals indicators of evolving into extra of an ensemble piece.
All indications, together with Jake’s opening phrases in Avatar: The Method of Water, level to the following film being his swansong.