The next main character of the Avatar franchise has been revealed by Disney.
After two record-breaking performances at the box office with 2009's Avatar and 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water, Disney and director James Cameron will look to capitalize on this beloved sci-fi world yet again with the incoming Avatar 3 (set for release in December 2025).
However, before the highly anticipated big-screen threequel, the Avatar franchise is headed to PS5 and Xbox, Ubisoft's upcoming open-world RPG Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
While being a solely digital adventure, Frontiers takes place within the same universe as the movies, with gamers assuming control of a "Na'vi raised by humans away from [their] tribe" (via 9News)
New Avatar Main Character Revealed
The next Avatar main character has been revealed, thanks to a fan kit for Ubisoft's upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora video game.
As spotted by a user of the r/Avatar subreddit, the images - which came as a part of promotional art for the game and some select wallpapers - seemingly reveal what the protagonist of Ubisoft's venture into James Cameron's sci-fi world will look like.
The game will seemingly allow players to select between either a masculine or feminine-presenting playable character, given both being displayed as a part of this promotional package.
Both are Na'vi seen wearing traditional beaded necklaces and rudimentary armor, along with a bow on the back of one variant.
According to an official Ubisoft release, Frontiers of Pandora's main character will be "[fully] customizable with options including different body types, voices, and body paint:"
"A stand-alone adventure set within the Avatar universe, you will explore and protect a never-before-seen continent of Pandora: the Western Frontier in first-person. Your Na'vi character is customizable with options including different body types, voices and body paint."
This new protagonist is a Na'vi who "after being abducted as a child and raised by the human militaristic corporation known as the RDA" is now "a stranger in [their] own birthplace," having to relearn the ways of their people:
"'Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora' lets you play as a Na'vi who awakens on Pandora years after being abducted as a child and raised by the human militaristic corporation known as the RDA. Now a stranger in your own birthplace, you must reckon with the return of the RDA and the threat they pose to Pandora while reclaiming your ancestral heritage and learning what it means to be Na'vi."
How Does Frontiers of Pandora Play Into the Avatar Movies?
While it has been made clear Frontiers of Pandora (and its newly revealed main character) will somehow play into the greater Avatar mythos, it still remains unknown exactly how that will come to pass.
As reported by TechRadar, the events of the game technically take place during Avatar: The Way of Water.
After being abducted by the RDA and forced into TAP (The Ambassador Program) before 2009's Avatar ever took place, it is the assault of the Tree of Life and the start of the Pandoran War (seen in that first movie) that seemingly sets Frontiers of Pandora's narrative into motion.
After the start of the war, TAP was forcibly shut down with the order du jour being to execute all Na'vi assets in the RDA's control.
This provokes the teacher of Frontiers' main character to put their pupils into cryosleep in hopes of saving them. Then, the playable character is awakened 15 years later, which would put the game's story firmly in the same time frame as Avatar 2.
Given the game takes place on a "never-before-seen continent of Pandora" known as the Western Frontier (per Ubisoft), it seems rather unlikely characters from the movie like Sam Worthington's Jake Sully will make an appearance.
However, seeing as James Cameron is seemingly setting up a great war amongst the Pandoran people in Avatar 3 and beyond, it would not be all that surprising if the Frontiers protagonist were to - at some point - cross over to the film side of Pandora.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on December 7.
