Avatar fans won’t have to wait nearly as long for the return of James Cameron’s epic sci-fi franchise, as the next installment will hit theaters next year. While speaking with Deadline, Zoe Saldaña dropped a little tease about what’s to come in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

“The way that we left the Sully family, they’re mourning heavily the loss of their child. So I do believe that that will carry out a great deal in the third installment of Avatar,” Saldaña said. “Jake and Neytiri are on this journey of acceptance, of accepting who they are and what they must be for each other and how they’re going to push forward to keep their family safe. And I love the fact that in the core of this entire saga is a beautiful love story, and I love that Jim really wrote that for them. But it’s not going to be easy. They’re not always going to meet eye to eye, and I just hope that they keep each other safe. That’s my hope for them.“

Speaking of Avatar, Saldaña recently expressed disappointment that motion-capture acting doesn’t receive recognition at the Oscars. “Old habits die hard, and when you have old establishments, it’s really hard to bring forward change,” Saldaña said. “And I understand that, so I’m not bitter about it, but it is quite deflating when you give 120 per cent of yourself into something. I mean, not winning is OK, not being nominated is OK, but when you’re overlooked and then minimised and completely disregarded…“

Avatar: Fire and Ash will also introduce another biome of Pandora, where the “aggressive, volcanic race” of Na’vi, known as the Ash People, reside. Avatar: Fire and Ash is currently set for a December 19, 2025 release, followed by Avatar 4 on December 21, 2029 and Avatar 5 on December 18, 2031. Cameron even has ideas for a potential Avatar 6 and 7, but that all depends on whether the demand for the franchise is still there. “There’ll be just far enough apart that they remain events, hopefully, in the lives of fans, of people who want to follow us, but not so far apart that it’s like there’s a generational difference between one movie,” Cameron said. “We’re fortunate we survived that, right? We got over that hurdle. So now we believe it’s going to come at the right pacing.“

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