7 Clues To Jake Sully’s Replacement In Avatar 3 After The Way Of Water Setup

Although Avatar 3 isn’t necessarily guaranteed to replace Jake Sully as the franchise’s protagonist, Avatar: The Way of Water laid a lot of groundwork for this twist. The Avatar franchise was always bigger than Jake Sully. Sam Worthington’s human marine, who became a member of the Na’vi resistance in the original movie, was an audience insertion persona designed to introduce viewers to the world of Pandora. Jake Sully was a literal avatar who allowed viewers to explore this new world while being guided by a recognizably human character. Since Pandora has been well established, Jake is no longer vital.

This doesn’t mean that 2025’s upcoming Avatar 3 will retire or kill off Jake, but it could mean that the sequel will introduce a new POV character for the franchise. Already, 2022’s long-awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water split its story between Jake and his children, proving that the series has broadened its focus since the original movie. Avatar 3 could take this approach even further, making Jake a supporting character as a new star takes his place. In fact, Avatar: The Way of Water already set up a new potential protagonist for the franchise.

Avatar: The Way of Water Already Switched The Franchise’s Hero

Avatar’s first sequel introduced Lo’ak as a new protagonist

Avatar: The Way of Water established Jake and Neytiri’s large family in its opening moments, a fast-paced time jump that filled in the years between the original movie and its first follow-up. However, while all of their children got some substantial screen time, Jake’s son Lo’ak became Avatar: The Way of Water’s protagonist. The sequel spent so much time focusing on his relationship with his father, his attempts to adjust to life among the Metkayina, and his connection to Payakan the Tulkun that Jake ended up playing a much smaller role in comparison.

This was not a bad thing, since Avatar 3 could leave Lo’ak among the Metkayina while the rest of the clan moved on. Avatar: The Way of Water spent so much time with Jake’s son that the character can now sustain a subplot of his own in the movie’s sequel. However, Lo’ak is not the only character who seems set to become more important as the series continues. Sigourney Weaver’s Kiri, whose mysterious parentage has already made her a compelling presence, seems increasingly likely to become the new heroine of the Avatar franchise in the coming sequels.

Avatar: The Way of Water Implied Kiri Has Superpowers

Sigourney Weaver’s character clearly has some secret significance

When Kiri adapted to underwater life instantly in Avatar: The Way of Water, it became clear that she had even more of a connection to Eywa than the rest of the Na’vi. However, Kiri’s ability to control the flora and fauna of the sea was a full-blown superpower and even the Metkayina couldn’t really explain what happened when she linked up with the Pandoran Neural Network. Although the Avatar movies haven’t explained Eywa fully yet, it was clear that Kiri’s connection to the planet’s power source was more than the average Na’vi’s link and Avatar 3 can now expand on this.

Kiri Already Has A Potential Love Interest

Spider and Kiri’s Avatar franchise relationship was already established

Jack Champion’s Spider was clearly besotted with Kiri early in Avatar: The Way of Water, and viewers already know that he will be a major character throughout the rest of the sequels. This means that the odds of Kiri becoming a more important character are even higher since she is already linked to one of the sequel’s biggest new characters. Spider’s inability to choose between Jake and Quaritch will be a major plot in Avatar 3, and Kiri could help the character with this difficult decision as the series continues.

Kiri’s Casting Makes Her Bigger Role Likely

James Cameron bringing back Sigourney Weaver bodes well

It would be weird for Aliens director James Cameron to hire that cult classic’s leading lady, Sigourney Weaver, to play a minor supporting character. As such, Kiri’s role in the Avatar sequels is likely to be central. Avatar: The Way of Water’s ending saw Kiri save Neytiri from certain death, meaning she is as much a part of the Sully family as Lo’ak or Tuk. This means that Avatar 3 can now focus more screen time on Kiri’s story.

This would benefit the series as a whole since pulling focus away from Jake expands the world of the franchise. Some of Avatar: The Way of Water’s most compelling moments came from Lo‘ak and Payakan, Spider’s struggles with his father, and Kiri exploring her powers, all of which were only tangentially related to Jake’s story. If the sequels continue to sideline Jake, Avatar 3 and its sequels can make Pandora’s inhabitants feel more fleshed out and real.

Jake’s Avatar Story Has To End Eventually

The Avatar series always had to outgrow Jake Sully

A major lesson that Jake learned in the original Avatar was that it can be worth giving up your life for something bigger than yourself. As such, his death in Avatar 3 or a subsequent sequel would make perfect thematic sense, particularly when it is clear that the threat of human invasion on Pandora is far from over. The humans are only getting more aggressive, meaning Jake will be central to more violent clashes between Tulkun hunters, marines, and other human attackers. As such, instead of all the planned Avatar movies focusing on Jake, the franchise can give him a fitting demise.

Kiri’s Age Means She Can Keep The Avatar Series Going

The later Avatar movies need a younger lead character

If the series does kill off Jake, the Avatar franchise would need a fitting new protagonist. This is where Kiri would be ideal since she is significantly younger than the original hero and villain of the series. A long time elapsed between the original movie and Avatar: The Way of Water and Jake is still repeatedly jumping headlong into violent conflicts, while Quaritch has already been killed off once at the end of the original movie. Kiri is young and could represent a new generation of Na’vi/human hybrids, particularly since she is so closely connected to Eywa and in touch with Pandora.

Weaver’s character has the potential to unite all of Pandora’s Na’vi in a way that Jake never could, thanks to her special bond with Eywa. This could prove vital in later Avatar sequels, meaning that Kiri could end up replacing Jake when he is eventually killed off. If the series fails to kill off Jake, his continued survival will stretch credulity and waste a perfect symbolic end to his arc. However, if Avatar 3 or one of its sequels allows Jake to die for a cause bigger than him, Avatar: The Way of Water has already set up his perfect replacement.