New 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' Image Confirms Key Villain Is Back for Revenge

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While the two Avatar films released by 20th Century Studios and James Cameron thus far have centered on Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri's (Zoe Saldaña) Na'vi family, other characters and mythologies have helped expand the world of Pandora. One such aspect is the plight of the Tulkuns, whale-like creatures who inhabit the waters of Pandora and are a large focus of Avatar: The Way of Water. One specific Tulkun named Payakan ended up befriending Jake's son Lo'ak, while also having a human enemy in Brendan Cowell's Mick Scoresby, a mariner who hunts down Tulkuns and harvests their bodies for priceless resources. It's now been revealed that Cowell will be returning as the character in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

As part of Empire Magazine's 'Path to Pandora' series, where the publication releases a new look at the film every month, the latest image features Mick on a boat with a robot arm and a grudge. The last time Mick and Payakan went head-to-head in the third act of The Way of Water, Payakan tore off the mariner's limb with his own steel cables. Cowell told Empire that when discussing Fire and Ash with Cameron, they decided to take the character in a darker, more vengeance-fueled direction, saying:

"What Jim [Cameron, director] and I talked about for Scoresby in this film is how he arrived as this wind-in-the-hair cowboy-of-the-seas in the last one, out to make some bank, have some laughs. He’s not in it for the wind, the hair, the laughs, or the money this time. He lost his last fight; he knows there’s this generational, ancestral hatred towards him, and so this time it’s personal. It’s destructive. And in terms of what he wants to do, it’s probably a little more violent, too."

A recurring theme for Avatar: Fire and Ash seems to be the hatred that brings out the worst in people. Whether it's Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and his obsession with killing Jake Sully following the death of his own human body at the end of the first film, or the Mangkwan Clan (known as the Ash people) as the primary antagonists for the sequel, it seems a lot of characters will be fueled by their hatred. Cameron himself said that he chose the title Fire and Ash because it represents the "anger, hatred, violence" associated with fire and the "aftermath" of grief and loss represented by ash.

It will be interesting to see how big a role Payakan ends up playing in Avatar: Fire and Ash, and how the character uses their incredible size, strength, and intellect in their fight against the humans who constantly attack and exploit their kind. Payakan's friendship with Lo'ak could also be explored further, especially since the first trailer already teases tensions between Lo'ak and his father, Jake. Fans will be able to experience all the intense character dynamics and action when Avatar: Fire and Ash hits theaters on December 19, 2025.