In some new comments regarding Avatar 3, the film's director, James Cameron, confirmed something about The Way of Water's Spider that audiences already suspected would be the case.
Needless to say, the Avatar sequel has had an insane run at the box office. It stayed atop the box office for seven weeks in a row and is now the third highest-grossing movie of all time—sitting just behind the first film and Avengers: Endgame in the all-time rankings.
The Way of Water did a lot of work in expanding James Cameron's world, but it also included a handful of new characters. Among them was Jack Champion's Spider.
Spider was a human who had joined the Sully family unofficially, not realizing that he was the son of their mortal enemy, Quaritch. By the time the second movie had rolled its credits, Spider had ended up saving his morally questionable father from his end at the hands of Jake Sully.
Spider's Importance Going Forward
While speaking at a fan screening of Avatar: The Way of Water, director James Cameron confirmed to those in attendance that a key character from the sequel will continue to be an important part of future films.
In response to a question about Jack Champion's character, the director shared, via Discussing Film's Andrew Salazar, that "Spider is going to remain an important character."
Following the ending of Avatar 2 and Spider's key decision to save Quaritch, many fans expected that Champion's character would be an important component of the sequels to come. Now, audiences know for certain that Spider will have a major role in Avatar 3 and onwards.
Cameron elaborated, noting that in his mind, "Spider connects [Jake and Quaritch] together:"
"In my mind Spider is who connects the two dads together [Jake and Quaritch]... because after a while simple revenge gets boring."
Previously, while speaking with Vanity Fair back in December 2022, Champion shared how "[he's] just excited for people to see how [future films] plays out:"
“Shit happens... I’m just excited for people to see how it plays out. I don’t want to ruin the story, but it’s kind of easy for me, I guess, because I’ve done it for five years before this, so what’s another two years?”
When asked if the character might feel some resentment towards Neytiri for her taking him hostage, Champion admitted how "there might be a bit" and that his character felt the feed to save his estranged father "because [he's] family:"
“There might be a little bit of resentment towards Neytiri, and he just spent months with this guy, so it’s not like he’s going to join him, but he’s not going to just let him die... He feels like he has to save him, because it’s his family.”
At the end of the day, the actor shared how "[he's] prepared for the love and the hate" that his character might receive:
"I’m prepared for the love and the hate... Whatever feeling you come out with is justified. So, if you hate him for it, that’s very justified. If you understand where he is coming from, then that’s also justified. He’s making the right and wrong decision all at the same time.”
What Will Spider's Future Hold?
Not too much is known about Avatar 3, especially when it comes to Spider's role in the proceedings—though fans have been given a brief glimpse of his slightly different look.
One would think there is bound to be some sort of consequence for Spider after saving his dad. The Sullys certainly won't be a fan of the choice when they find out.
It could possibly even cause a bigger, more permanent divide between Spider and his surrogate family.
At the very least, the third entry will introduce a fire Na'Vi tribe, who, unlike those that came before, will be portrayed in a harsher light and be "antagonistic" towards Sully and his family.
This seemingly sets the stage for humans to be in a more positive light next time around, with the Na'Vi doing the morally questionable things—a refreshing change of pace.
Avatar 3 is set to hit theaters on December 20, 2024.
