James Cameron had "too many great ideas" for Avatar: The Way of Water, so the cut content became Avatar 3 which "will actually be a little bit longer" than its 3-hour predecessor

James Cameron said we were supposed to meet the Ash clan in Avatar: The Way of Water - but the story was saved for Avatar: Fire and Ash.

"In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2," Cameron told Empire. "The [film] was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character. So I said, "Guys, we’ve got to split it.'"

The Ash clan, aka the Mangkwan, will make their first appearance in the third installment, with Oona Chaplin starring as Varang, as their leader.

Added Cameron: "Movie 3 will actually be a little bit longer than movie 2." This is a bit wild given that Avatar: The Way of Water has a runtime of 3 hours and 12 minutes. I'm not a betting woman but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's probably around 3 hours and 30 minutes.

The cast includes Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, Sigourney Weaver as Kiri, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Giovanni Ribisi, Edie Falco, and Jermaine Clement. David Thewlis is set to join the franchise for Avatar 4 and Avatar 5.

Avatar 3: Fire and Ash hits theaters on December 19, 2025. Avatar 4 is set to hit theaters in 2029. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or, skip ahead to our complete list of movie release dates.