Avatar: The Way of Water once had a Na'vi space battle

Avatar: The Way of Water at one point had a space battle involving the Na'vi, the film's co-writer has revealed. The James Cameron-directed Avatar sequel follows the family of Jake and Neytiri, who are forced to relocate to live with a water tribe by the villainous RDA's relentless efforts to find them. 

"There was one idea of a space battle with Na'vi," co-writer Rick Jaffa explained to Entertainment Weekly. "That idea got a lot of traction, and we talked a lot about it. We were struggling, though. How would that work with the story that we're telling? Jim said, 'Well, give me a few weeks.' He went off and he wrote an entire script. And, by the way, a brilliant script."

But, ultimately, the new script was scrapped. "At the end of the day, the whole script got thrown out because it just didn't really work with the story we were telling," Jaffa revealed. 

Luckily, though, the script hasn't been entirely thrown out: Sherri L. Smith's three volume graphic novel, Avatar: The High Ground, covers the one year time jump at the start of the film and includes the script's discarded story.  

The Way of Water has already become one of the highest grossing movies of all time, after just over a month in theaters, and is set to be followed by three more movies. Avatar 3 will introduce a new type of Na'vi, according to Cameron. "The fire will be represented by the 'Ash People.' I want to show the Na'vi from another angle because, so far, I have only shown their good sides," he revealed. 

Avatar 2 is in theaters now. If you're all caught up, check out our spoilery guide on The Way of Water ending explained. You can also fill out your watchlist with our roundup of all the upcoming major movie release dates to start planning 2023's theater trips.