Commentary — ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ Mimics ‘Star Wars’ In More Ways Than One
by Frank Martin
The Avatar franchise is in a weird place at the moment. It initially started out as just one film, similarly to how Star Wars began. But now, the series has expanded with more sequels and possible spin-offs to become a full-fledged universe. It will take a very long time for it to rival the expansive nature of Star Wars, but Avatar: Fire and Ash has already shown signs that the series is beginning to mimic Star Wars on multiple storytelling fronts.
The plot picks up very close to where its predecessor, Avatar: The Way Of Water, left off. The Na’vi are on the brink of full-scale war with the humans. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is considered public enemy number one by the humans and has launched a campaign to bring him in. He is forced to flee with his family and utilizes wind traders to transport them across Pandora. Also, his adopted daughter, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), expands her connection to Eywa and learns more about her origins, discovering that she never had a father and was the results of parthenogenesis.
If there’s one thing Star Wars excels at its creating cultures for its various species. There are so many different types of aliens and planets to visit in that universe, and all of them have their own different styles of fashion, music, food, and more. Avatar is starting to branch off into this territory as audiences are introduced to different Na’vi factions on Pandora. The wind traders, specifically, are reminiscent of Star Wars characters as they represent a rudimentary economy within in the Avatar world. Culture isn’t the only way Avatar resembles Star Wars, though. The fact that a main character was produced through a virgin birth is very similar to how Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) was born prior to Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. As Avatar begins to expand and become a Star Wars-eque universe, it’s interesting to see so many parallels with the franchise in Fire and Ash.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is now streaming on Disney+.
