Fire and Ash's returning cast could lead to the assumption that the franchise will continue with Jake Sully as the central focus of the story, it is very possible that his role could be reduced in favor of Avatar's best character.

While there have been plenty of characters within the world of Avatar that have become great additions to the franchise, none have been quite as impactful as Avatar 3's story, Neytiri is probably going to be one of the biggest parts of it.

Neytiri Is Likely To Be The Protagonist Of Avatar 3

She Could Very Well Take The Place Of Jake Sully

There are a few reasons to believe that Neytiri may replace Jake Sully in Avatar 3, and one of the main things that point towards that future are the comments of James Cameron himself, saying in an interview with Empire that, in Fire and Ash, Saldaña's performance as Neytiri "goes way beyond what you've seen before." Fresh off her Emilia Perez Oscars win, Saldaña is certainly looking to continue to expand her immense acting talents, and placing her at the forefront of Avatar 3 would be a way to do that.

Fire and Ash seems like it is going to bring those performances to the forefront of the film with Neytiri.

Even though most of Avatar's characters are CGI creations, there is a lot that goes into each performance, and with how impressive The Way of Water's character models were, each tiny detail that an actor adds to their role contributed to the feel of the film. Avatar 2's reviews were about as good as the first film, with one big positive being the great performances, and Fire and Ash seems like it is going to bring those performances to the forefront of the film with Neytiri.

Neytiri Is Already The Most Developed & Best Character In The Series

Neytiri Has Received A Lot Of Characterization Throughout The Franchise

Even though Jake Sully was the protagonist of the previous two films, he was never really one of the main draws of the franchise. The Way of Water did give him a lot more to work with, with some relatively strong characterization and a ing cast that brought a lot out of him, but Sully never really escaped the trap he fell into back in the first Avatar as a fairly bland and uninteresting protagonist. Neytiri, on the other hand, always left a strong impression, feeling like a much more interesting character in the first and especially the second movie.

This is even more impressive considering the fact that The Way of Water somewhat sidelined Neytiri, and she still managed to shine as one of the best parts of that film with her limited screentime. The movie put her through a lot, and while she went through it all with Jake by her side as well, her performance, combined with a character that was already more interesting than Sully, made her feel easily like one of the most important parts of the franchise.

Avatar 3 Can Be The Movie Neytiri Has Deserved All Along

Neytiri's Expanded Role Would Capitalize On How Great She Already Is

The Way of Water left Neytiri in an extremely emotionally unstable place, as Avatar 2's ending saw her son with Jake Sully, Neteyam, killed by the movie's main antagonist, which, given Cameron's comments about Saldaña's performance, paints an exciting picture of what she will be going through in Avatar: Fire and Ash. She has been a ing character up until now, and giving her as much time as possible in the third installment in the franchise to fully explore her character would be a great shift.