Although we’ll likely never get a movie that takes place between Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron apparently knows exactly how the main characters of his first film lived their lives during that time. In fact, he’s already written it.
In a Way of Water press conference on Tuesday, Sam Worthington — who plays Jake Sully, the disabled ex-marine turned Na’vi freedom-fighter — revealed that Cameron gave him a massive manuscript before they began shooting the Avatar sequel that detailed the adventures his character had with Neyteri (Zoe Saldana) before settling into domestic bliss.
“Jim realised that that story was about them being warriors and taking on battles with other clans,” Worthington said. “It gave us a good jumping off point to understand how to fill in that gap that’s missing.”
Cameron has been thinking about the larger Avatar universe, and the interconnected, intergenerational drama of these movies, for a very long time. While it’s clear that this part of Jake and Neyteri’s lives wasn’t what he wanted to focus on in this film — which is going to be focusing much more on family dynamics, what it means to build community, and how Jake and Neyteri are as parents — maybe some die-hard fan will find a way to get that secret Avatar 1.5 script.
Avatar: The Way of Water opens December 16.
Want more Gizmodo news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.