The Avatar films have always been about flight. I don't just mean banshees and floating mountains—I mean ambition, ego, vision. You can see it in the films, you can hear it in Cameron's voice when he talks about them. It's that manic, monomaniacal obsession with building a world so big it spills off the screen and so detailed it could choke a lore wiki.
And now? Now he's found a new altitude.
With Avatar: Fire & Ash arriving in theaters December 19, 2025, James Cameron has officially confirmed something fans (and a few obsessive forum trolls) have been speculating since The Way of Water's credits rolled: the Wind Tribe is real, they're coming fast, and they're here to stay.
“They're Going to Be Throughout the Cycle…”
So says Cameron, in a recent conversation with Empire—a magazine that seems to have become his personal transmission relay from Pandora. He's talking about the Wind Traders, a nomadic Na'vi clan introduced in the Fire & Ash trailer (well, hinted at—blink and you miss ‘em), and more specifically, about a character named Peylak, played by David Thewlis.
Yes, that David Thewlis. The human lie detector from Fargo, the rage-filled wizard from Harry Potter, the once-creepy, now-beloved oddball whose voice could sandpaper steel. And now? He's playing the Wind Traders' “sky captain,” according to Cameron. And apparently, this isn't some one-and-done cameo.
“They're going to be throughout the cycle of 3, 4, and 5,” Cameron told Empire, comparing them to Kate Winslet's Ronal and Cliff Curtis' Tonowari in The Way of Water. “I'm playing a long game.”
Translation: This isn't a side quest. It's a shift in Avatar's gravitational center.
Who Are the Wind Traders, Exactly?
Glad you asked. And also—no one knows. Not really. Not yet.
But what we do know, per Cameron, is that they're Na'vi, yes, but not place-specific. Unlike the forest-dwelling Omaticaya or the oceanic Metkayina, the Wind Traders seem to function like airborne nomads—possibly tech-savvy, definitely mobile, and maybe even a bit… ethically gray?
There's a whiff of Mad Max in the air here. And not the dusty, diesel kind—more like sky gypsies meets cosmic traders, if you want the vibe. Think: dirigibles made of bone and silk, floating markets, maps stitched on hides, stories traded like currency. There's something ancient and modern at once about the concept. A kind of Na'vi mercantile mysticism.
Cameron, of course, plays it close to the vest, but he did cite The Godfather—of all things—as an influence on this part of the story.
“It's an epic, novelistic journey,” he says. “You're gonna wait for it, but it's satisfying.”
That's… cryptic. But also very Godfather-y.
Peylak: Thewlis' Airborne Wild Card
We got our first glimpse of Peylak back in February 2025, courtesy of early concept art. Towering. Stoic. Long, wind-slicked braids. Possibly wearing scavenged tech, possibly not. He's got that look—the “I don't answer to any one tribe” thing going on. He wasn't in the trailer, not really. But his presence was felt.
He's the kind of character Cameron likes to keep under wraps until he can steal the scene mid-film. You know the type. Unassuming entrance. Scene-chewing gravitas. Then suddenly—he's everything. Aliens had Hicks. Abyss had Coffey. And Avatar may have Peylak.
Is this the beginning of Jake Sully's fade into the background? Possibly. Or maybe Peylak's more of a foil—an antihero to Sully's burdened patriarch.
But here's the thing: if the Wind Traders are the future of the franchise, Peylak is the wind's voice.
Franchise at a Crossroads—Or a Fork in the Sky?
Let's zoom out.
Avatar (2009) introduced us to Pandora. The Way of Water (2022) widened the scope. Fire & Ash (2025)? It's opening the sky. Literally and structurally. By introducing not one but two new clans—the Wind Tribe and the volcanic Ash Clan (led by Oona Chaplin's Varang)—Cameron's making it clear that Pandora is not a static world. It's a narrative galaxy unto itself.
This isn't just an expansion pack. It's a franchise reframe.
In fact, Cameron's move here reminds me a bit of what Dune: Part Two just did (TIFF 2024 still hasn't shut up about it). You take a central character, start shifting the spotlight to secondary players, and before long, you're telling a completely new story inside the same universe. This is saga storytelling. And it's about damn time.
The Long Game, The High Stakes
Look, nobody commits like Cameron. The man spent a decade underwater to get The Way of Water right. So when he says we won't just see the Wind Traders, but that they'll be integral to Avatar 3, 4, and 5—I believe him. I also believe he's grooming the next emotional anchor of the franchise.
Could Peylak replace Jake? Or become a legend in his own right?
Maybe. Maybe not. But that's the point. Cameron is playing with legacy, succession, and mythology. And if Fire & Ash is as pivotal as it sounds, we might be looking at a new kind of Avatar story. One told by the wind.
