On the press tour behind the December 2025 release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third movie in the Avatar saga, writer-director-producer James Cameron often seemed frustrated or exhausted. His interviews focused on the assumption that he’d used generative AI to make his movie, and whether the series could or should continue. It seemed clear that he was proud of the movie he’d made, but also vividly aware that he’d spent some 20 years of his career in the jungles of Pandora. He sounded ready to move on and make non-Avatar movies.

The movie itself is entirely at odds with that seeming weariness — it’s an intensely high-energy story full of dynamic action, outsized emotions, and full physical commitment. The behind-the-scenes featurettes included on the upcoming 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD release of Avatar: Fire and Ash show how Cameron and his team created that action — and they showcase a version of Cameron who seems to be having a lot more fun than the Cameron who spoke to the press after it was all over. In a clip from a behind-the-scenes featurette on the movie’s stunts, Cameron is in the thick of it with his actors, waving targets for their eyeline focus, illustrating the quick-pull energy he wants on a longbow shot, and manning a ceiling-mounted car-sized crossbow. He comes across like a kid in a candy store, running around between the toys and displaying the urgency he wants to see on the screen.

Behind-the-scenes footage on the Avatar movies has been a source of fascination since the first movie, because while all the roles are performed by human actors for motion-capture cameras, what we see on screen looks so little like what the cast and crew saw on set. The featurette’s back and forth between the production stage and the final footage is still fun to watch, but it’s no longer a novelty — at this point, the novelty is just watching Cameron and the cast light up when they’re in their element and in the middle of the action. Watching Cameron lunge around a giant crossbow put a smile on my face — it’s a wholesome, happy clip that’s much more upbeat than Fire and Ash‘s grim, bloody storyline, or Cameron’s solemn looks back on his career. More of this, please.

Avatar: Fire & Ash hits premium digital release on May 31, and is available for pre-order. The 4K Ultra HD, 3D Blu-ray, and DVD editions come out May 19.

• English Family Audio Track: All objectionable language removed.
• Igniting the Flame: The Making of Avatar: Fire and Ash — A series of featurettes that explores the filmmakers’ journey making Avatar: Fire and Ash with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and insights about the process from the creative talents who shaped the film.
• Writing the Sequels: In 2013, James Cameron gathered a team of top screenwriters to craft a vision for the Avatar sequels. Together they created an ambitious saga that weaves new stories, clans, biomes, creatures and, most importantly, a family for Jake and Neytiri.
• Pandoran Design: Production Designer Dylan Cole and his team tackle their biggest design challenge: creating a vivid world and culture for the new clans, the Wind Traders and the Ash People, and the creatures that share their world.
• RDA Design: Production Designer Ben Procter and his team of concept artists and art directors showcase the sets of Bridgehead and the RDA. From concept art to over 70 sets, Procter’s designs set the stage for many of the film’s action scenes.
• The Women of Pandora: Dive deeper into James Cameron’s fiercest Na’vi warriors with the powerhouse actors that define these epic roles.
• Varang and the Mangkwan: Like every aspect of the Avatar films, Varang and the Mangkwan are a melding of talents, from character and scenic design to costumes and body art, but most distinctive is the performance by Oona Chaplin. Discover how she approached her role.
• Capturing Performance: Cameron and his cast take the “freedom to imagine” on Avatar’s capture stage. The characters come to life instinctively as actors rely on their connection to each other, rather than the physical trappings of lighting, costumes, and sets.
• Stunts: Second unit director Garrett Warren takes us inside the action of Fire and Ash. If you see it in the film, his stunt team did it for real: climbing, falling, fighting, shooting, swimming, and even dogfighting on ikrans.
• Editing and Virtual Camera: On the Avatar films, Editorial is the quiet hero of production. Discover the editors’ complex process of transforming filmed “scenes” from the capture stage into performance edits, camera loads, shots, templates and finally, a finished film.
• WĒTĀ FX: Wētā FX tackles the monumental task of rendering every shot in photoreal detail. Fire and Ash is bigger and more complex than any film before it, with giant set pieces, virtual characters, dynamic creatures and vivid effects.
• ILM: ILM undertakes a pair of key scenes: Jake’s imprisonment in a thanator cage, and his thrilling escape on the gritty tarmac of Bridgehead.
• Score: Composer Simon Franglen takes us behind the scenes of his thrilling score for FIRE AND ASH, capturing the majestic beauty of the Wind Traders and the unsettling world of the Mangkwan. Also hear from Miley Cyrus on her hit single, “Dream As One.”
• The Art and Impact of 3D: James Cameron takes us inside 3D, a critical component of the Avatar films. Audiences feel the immense scope of Pandora, not just through the breadth of the movie screen, but in the endless depth enabled by stereoscopic filming.
• Home in New Zealand: Though Fire and Ash’s live action filming was centralized in one cozy corner of Wellington, vendors from all parts of New Zealand banded together to build the sets, costumes, props, and even working maritime vessels.
• Jon Landau Tribute: If James Cameron is the guiding vision for the Avatar sequels, producer Jon Landau was their nurturing heart. In this warm tribute, the filmmakers celebrate a beloved friend and colleague with remembrances from cast and crew.
• RDA Orientation: Do you have what it takes to survive the wild frontier of Pandora? In these tutorial videos, the RDA provides essential training in Na’vi language and an intelligence briefing on the clans of Pandora and the biomes they inhabit.
• Na’vi 101: The RDA’s Official Language Orientation: Before you set foot on Pandora, the RDA requires personnel to complete Na’vi language training. This video covers the basics of Na’vi — greetings, key phrases, proper pronunciation, and cultural mores. Trust us: say it right or pay the price.
• Pandora Intelligence Brief: Prepare for deployment with this essential RDA orientation video designed to give new recruits a tactical edge when navigating the uncharted territories of Pandora. This isn’t just a new world. It’s a new frontier.
• Marketing Materials & Music Video
• “Dream as One” Music Video: Multi Grammy-winning superstar Miley Cyrus performs her emotional end-title ballad, “Dream as One,” in the official music video.
• Theatrical Trailer 1: New clans, new villains. The Sully family fights to survive.
• Theatrical Trailer 2: The Pandoran world goes deeper than you can imagine.