Avatar fans can return to Pandora in 2021 with a new series that bridges the gap between James Cameron‘s 2009 original film and its now complete sequel. Avatar: The Next Shadow is written by Jeremy Barlow (AVP: Thicker Than Blood, Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir), illustrated by Josh Hood (We Can Never Go Home, JLA: Scary Monsters), and features covers by Gui Balbi (Alien: The Original Screenplay). Avatar: The Next Shadow continues Jake Sully’s story in the gap between Avatar movies. In the new series, Jake Sully can fight a war, but can he keep the peace? Days after the destruction of the Na’ vi Hometree, Jake finds himself ill-equipped to defuse the internal conflicts threatening to tear the Omatikaya apart—and perilously unprepared for a treacherous plot to remove him from the clan forever!
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Avatar: The Next Shadow is Dark Horse Comics’ third Avatar comic book series after 2017’s Avatar: Brothers and 2019’s Avatar: Tsu’tey’s Path. Avatar: The Next Shadow is notable for being the first comics project to take place after the Avatar movie’s events. It is the official continuation of Avatar’s story ahead of its return to movie theaters.
Cameron recently stated that filming is complete on the second Avatar movie. Now he’s turning his attention towards the third movie in the series.
“The day we deliver Avatar 2, we’ll just start working on finishing Avatar 3,” Cameron said. “So, where we are right now, I’m down in New Zealand shooting. We’re shooting the remainder of the live-action. We’ve got about 10-percent left to go. We’re 100-percent complete on Avatar 2, and we’re sort of 95-percent complete on Avatar 3.”
While Cameron is planning on making five Avatar movies in total, he’s also realistic about the reasons that may not come to pass. “Let’s face it, if Avatar 2 and 3 don’t make enough money, there’s not going to be a 4 and 5,” Cameron told Vanity Fair in 2017. “They’re fully encapsulated stories in and of themselves. It builds across the five films to a greater kind of meta-narrative, but they’re fully formed films in their own right, unlike, say, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, where you really just had to sort of go, ‘Oh, s**t, all right, well I guess I better come back next year.’ Even though that all worked, and everybody did.”
Avatar: The Next Shadow #1 (of 4) goes on sale on January 6, 2021.
