Avatar: Fire and Ash Ending Explained

Let’s make this simple: You want to know if there are any mid- or post-credits scenes in Avatar: Fire and Ash. The answer is no; James Cameron has never included a closing credits scene in any of his movies, and that doesn’t change here.

Full spoilers follow!

The third chapter in James Cameron’s Avatar saga, Avatar: Fire and Ash, picks up with the Sully family now fully immersed within the Metkayina, the clan that gave them safe shelter in Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). They’re still mourning the loss of Neteyam – the eldest son of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) – who was killed in that second film.

There are also looming concerns about the human boy known as Spider (Jack Champion) – the biological son of the Sullys’ sworn enemy, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). He’s grown up alongside the Sullys and is treated like a family member by all of them… well, all except Neytiri, who always kept him at arm’s length thanks to his humanity, and who has now grown even more openly hostile towards him in the wake of Neteyam’s death. This is why her solution to the worry that Spider’s presence could be a danger to them is to suggest they simply send him away. Reluctantly, Jake agrees, but the entire family sets out on the journey to take Spider to his new home, hitching a ride with the Wind Traders, whose floating vehicles travel Pandora.

And nothing bad happens! Oh wait, no, that’s when the Fire Nation atta… ahem, that’s when the Mangkwan, also known as the Ash Clan, attacks!

Ring of Fire (and Ash)

Our big new threat here is the Mangkwan, under the leadership of Varang (Oona Chaplin). These are far more menacing, dangerously violent Na’vi than we’ve met befor. They feel that the Na’vi’s sacred deity, Eywa, has abandoned them, and it’s not long before they’ve joined forces with Quaritch. Varang and Quaritch even become lovers!

The initial attack from the Mangkwan upon the Wind Traders nearly leads to Spider’s death, as the Sullys are initially scattered and forced to flee, with Spider’s oxygen supply running dangerously low with no replacement mask available. But Jake and Neytiri’s adopted daughter, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), who already showed she had some very special and unique abilities in The Way of Water, is able to call upon Eywa to save Spider before he dies. This causes something unprecedented to happen, as Spider, though still a human, can now breathe the Pandoran air without a mask. He even now has a neural queue – you know, those weird linky things in a Na’vi’s hair – as do most lifeforms on Pandora, allowing him to now connect with them.

This becomes the film’s pivotal plot point, because when Jake and Neytiri find out about Spider’s new status, they realize the very dangerous implications. If the ominous human corporation known as RDA – and by extension humans at large – can somehow replicate Spider’s new biology and overcome their inability to survive the environment, it would only lead to more of them coming to Pandora to exploit its resources, no doubt resulting in the killing of more Na’vi in the process.

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Indeed, this is exactly what RDA wants to do as the film continues, which leads to the movie’s darkest moment, as Jake – realizing Spider’s mere existence now endangers all of the Na’vi – intends to kill the boy to stop the inevitable. But though Jake tries to push down his own feelings, ignoring Spider as he pleads for his life and even calls Jake “Dad” – it’s really sad!! – it’s ultimately Spider Hater #1, aka Neytiri, who finally processes what an awful act this would be, and stops Jake from going through with it.

Of course, this doesn’t solve their problem. Spider is indeed captured, with Quaritch helping to bring in his son, albeit with the caveat that he seems to not want Spider killed in order to access these changes to his DNA. Not surprisingly, other RDA representatives like Giovanni Ribisi’s returning Parker Selfridge are far less concerned about how they get results.

Meanwhile, with all eyes on his best bro Spider, the Sullys’ second-born, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), is somewhat sidelined for much of the film. Despite serving as narrator of the entire movie for the first time, Lo’ak goes on a side quest to rally the Tulkun – those big, highly intelligent Pandoran whales introduced in The Way of Water – to help in the impending fight against the RDA. This is something the Tulkun first say they want no part of…

Across Spider’s Verse

The final act of the film involves Spider breaking free with the help of… one half of Flight of the Conchords! Yes, after spending two movies being disgusted but basically ineffectual as he watched the Tulkun mercilessly and brutally killed by his fellow humans, Jemaine Clement’s Dr. Ian Garvin has finally had enough, helps Spider escape… and then just kind of oddly peaces out of the movie. See you in Avatar 4, I guess?

What follows is another major battle between the RDA and the Na’vi that has many cool moments, but also feels a bit too similar to the awesome final showdown that ended The Way of Water. Rather than holding off for a last minute Han Solo-type moment, the Tulkuns’ inevitable change of heart is quickly taken care of, and they actually show up almost immediately. As a result, things are going very well for Team Sully and their Metkayina comrades at first, with the giant creatures smashing into and onto many an enemy ship and sending them to their doom. Thankfully, we finally see the Avatar series’ most loathsome character, the human Scoresby (Brendan Cowell) – the guy who not only doesn’t care that the Tulkun are intelligent, caring creatures, but seems to love hunting them for profit even more thanks to that knowledge – being snatched into the mouth of a Tulkun, who drags him down into the depths to his doom.

Jake and Quaritch immediately stop fighting to save the boy they both consider a son. Quaritch refuses to be taken in, and instead plummets to his doom…

But things begin to go bad for our heroes when Quaritch and his new pals, the Mangkwan, enter the battle. The Sully children’s former bully-turned-pal, Rotxo (Duane Evans, Jr.), is killed, and after doing some serious damage to her enemies, the very pregnant Metkayina spiritual leader, Ronal (Kate Winslet), is fatally wounded as well. In her final moments, she goes into labor, with Neytiri helping to deliver her healthy baby, who Ronal is able to hold before she dies.

In the midst of this, Kiri and Spider dive down to the Spirit Tree, with Kiri finally able to commune with Eywa again, which in turn allows her to call forth more help from… eh, sorry, blanking on these new creatures’ name, but they’re like dolphins with attitude! These guys are able to help push back hard against both the RDA and the Mangkwan. Amongst the RDA, the command ship belonging to General Frances Ardmore (Edie Falco) is torn open and flooding, ending its threat and likely ending the lives of those onboard as well.

Though Neytiri and Varang do ferociously face off, it’s not a duel to the death (this time), with Varang escaping when things begin to go bad for her side. Our central Avatar franchise rivalry, Quaritch and Jake, once more battle high up on shaky ground, with Spider trying to stop Quaritch as well. However, when the mayhem around them causes Spider to nearly fall to his death, both Jake and Quaritch immediately stop fighting to save the boy they both consider a son. With Spider saved, and Quaritch’s side losing the fight, Quaritch refuses to be taken in, and instead plummets to his doom… unless, you know, he’s actually okay.

Avatar: Fire & Ash Concept Art

In the aftermath, Spider and Kiri once more visit the Spirit Tree, using their neural queue to link up with it. This allows them to visit the Spirit World, where they are greeted by the friendly faces of those who have passed on, including familiar faces like Neteyam, Ronal, Rotxo, and even Dr. Grace Augustine, with Sigourney Weaver briefly getting to play a scene with herself as both mother (Grace) and daughter (Kiri). The spirits all gather around Kiri and Spider, letting Spider know he is truly considered one of them now.

And so ends Fire and Ash!

So Does This Feel Like a Finale?

We know James Cameron has planned Avatar as a five-movie saga, and that he even shot a small amount of material for the fourth and fifth films while making The Way of Water and Fire and Ash, but he’s also been a bit more cautious about the future while promoting the third film. Right now, he’s stressing that whether the fourth and fifth films happen depends on how well this new one does, and has also noted that the third movie is meant to feel like the end of a major chapter in the story. So does Fire and Ash feel like it could be a proper franchise finale if it was suddenly turned into one?

Not really, for a few reasons. First off, let’s go over the characters who are dead, presumably dead, or just kind of wandered off:

Dead for Sure

• Ronal
  • We even see her in the Na’vi spirit world!
• Rotxo
  • Ditto on that whole spirit world thing.

Almost Certainly Dead

• Captain Mick Scoresby
  • There’s a tiny bit of wiggle room, but he was dragged deep underwater, and also, after two movies of him being the most hateable guy ever, we need those Tulkun to have had their revenge.

Probably Dead

• General Frances Ardmore
  • Last seen going down with her ship. A possible last minute offscreen save is not impossible, but she’s never been that much of a story focus despite Edie Falco playing her, so I wouldn’t bet on her making it.

Maybe Dead, But…

• Colonel Miles Quaritch
  • Last seen falling oh-so far to his supposed doom, but look, all it takes is one Mangkwan flying by on a banshee and he’s good to go to fight another day. It also feels like Cameron loves this character a lot.

Definitely Still Alive, but Vanished Before the Final Battle

• Dr. Ian Garvin
  • After he helps Spider escape, we don’t see him again, but one would presume he’d be a good ally going forward for the Na’vi’s “See, we don’t all suck!” longtime human allies, Dr. Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) and Dr. Max Patel (Dileep Rao).
• Parker Selfridge
  • As a slimy corporate type, it makes sense that Parker would stay far away from the actual physical fighting, though it was a bit odd to not check in on him one last time to see what nefarious plotting he’s up to next. But the movie does let us know that Parker got his position because he’s the son of the big boss at RDA, which feels like a set-up to meet his dad down the line, especially given that Cameron has previously said the Avatar films will eventually travel to Earth.

On top of the strong possibility that Quaritch could return again, one of this new film’s central villains, Varang, is also 100% alive, escaped at the end, and would no doubt be out for revenge. And, of course, the RDA still exists, and Selfridge sure is a determined jerk.

But even beyond all that, Fire and Ash is incredibly Spider-focused, ultimately ending on a vitally important moment for him as he’s truly accepted by the Na’vi. This is important to the Sully family in its own way, sure – they do love him as a family member – yet it still doesn’t feel like the way you’d want to wrap up this entire saga. Avatar as a whole hasn’t been Spider’s story, and there is clearly more that could be done with Jake and Neytiri, along with the rest of the kids, that would be more about the Na’vi themselves. My guess is that we will indeed see them down the line again, and those fourth and fifth movies will eventually happen, even if it’s after Cameron takes a break from Pandora for a bit. Hell, we still haven’t even met the character Michelle Yeoh was cast as way back in 2019, with Cameron confirming that the Academy Award-winning actress has already filmed material intended for the fourth and fifth movies!

Does Avatar: Fire and Ash Have a Mid- or Post-Credits Scene?

It does not, though as you’re listening to Miley Cyrus sing over the closing credits, you do get the standard “Visit Scenic Pandora”-style shots of the planet’s landscapes, seascapes, and wildlife that also concluded the first two films. This time, they switch it up a bit, because there are also shots of the primary characters pulled from footage we’ve seen so far.

Note: This story was updated with full spoilers on Dec. 19. It was originally published on Dec. 18.