James Cameron is famous for many things: technical ambition, relentless perfectionism, and an almost stubborn refusal to take the easy narrative route. It is that imaginative obstinacy that has made ‘Avatar’ much more than just a visual spectacle.
And still, even Cameron almost made a choice that would have changed the emotional backbone of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ dramatically.
James Cameron On Why ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ Couldn’t Get Rid Of Spider
In a recent conversation with EW, Cameron admitted that he had at one point thought about dropping Spider, one of the most emotionally convoluted characters in the franchise. And it was not due to the fact that the character was not important. In fact, it was the opposite. Spider proved to be too valuable to lose, even when the filmmaking problems became overwhelming. Spider is, on paper, a logistical nightmare. He is the sole human child in the Na’vi, adopted by Jake Sully and Neytiri.
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He is also Colonel Quaritch’s biological son, the main antagonist of the franchise. In contrast to the Na’vi characters, Spider has to be shot in large part in live action and then blended into a performance-capture environment filled with creatures twice his size. James Cameron himself confessed that this was horrific to produce. Whether it was scale differences or technical challenges, Spider was one of the hardest characters to make believable.
Cameron even attempted to write him out of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ altogether to make the story and the shoot easier. However, when Spider was dropped from the script, something essential was lost. “I knew it was gonna be all kinds of scale stuff, and it was gonna be horrific to do, which it was. I tried to write him out, and it didn’t work. It all fell apart because now Jake and Quaritch are the only two guys trying to kill each other. It’s too simple,” he stated.
In his absence, Cameron knew that the war between Jake and Quaritch was too easy to understand, two men attempting to kill one another, as he put it. Clean. Simple. And utterly dull. Spider is the emotional knot that binds the main rivalry of the franchise. He is the living contradiction. He was brought up by the man who murdered his biological father. However, he is genetically related to the foe of the family that loves him. Even his existence pushes Jake and Quaritch into a morally awkward space. That is what makes him impossible to get rid of.
Why Spider’s Survival Matters And What It Means For ‘Avatar 4’
Cameron’s comments strongly suggest that Spider will survive the events of ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, setting him up as a major player moving forward. However, the future of the franchise is not determined by narrative intent, but by what the audience demands. So, when do we go back to Pandora then? ‘Avatar 4’ will officially be released on December 21, 2029, four years after ‘Fire and Ash’. Although such a gap can be intimidating, Cameron and his crew have already shot a substantial part of the movie.
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The whole first act is filmed, in part due to ‘Avatar 4’ having a six-year time jump in the middle of the narrative. The early shooting meant that the younger cast members would not age before the jump. The remainder of the film, however, remains undeveloped. Cameron has been open regarding the plan: Disney and 20th Century Studios would like to see how ‘Fire and Ash’ performs in the theaters before investing in the completion of ‘Avatar 4’ and the green light of ‘Avatar 5’. Moreover, if ‘Fire and Ash’ is successful, which history says it will be, the arc of Spider will grow exponentially.
