How Avatar 3 Star Helped Make 1 Huge Change in Fire & Ash’ Final Battle

The final battle in Avatar 3 changed significantly after James Cameron revisited the film’s story and added a major callback to the original Avatar. Cameron has confirmed that the return of Toruk Makto—absent from Avatar: The Way of Water—was added late in the process, following feedback from Zoe Saldaña, and ultimately made the climax of Avatar: Fire and Ash more epic.

James Cameron on how Zoe Saldaña helped shape Avatar 3’s final battle

James Cameron told Variety he rarely questions his creative instincts but did so while reviewing an early cut of Fire and Ash. During that rewatch, he felt parts of the storytelling were “a little off,” particularly as the film moved toward its ending.

Cameron pointed to the absence of Toruk, the massive Leonopteryx Jake Sully rides during the climax of the first Avatar, as a lingering issue. “Our Toruk is back [in Fire and Ash], right?” Cameron said, acknowledging that fans had long questioned why Jake did not return to the creature in later films. Toruk does not appear at all in Avatar: The Way of Water, and Cameron initially planned to save the callback for a future sequel.

That plan changed after Cameron went back to the Avatar 3 script and rewrote the story to include Toruk Makto in Fire and Ash. The decision required shooting additional scenes and removing others to make room for the revised arc.

The director later clarified that the idea gained momentum after a character note from Saldaña. While filming, Zoe Saldaña felt Neytiri lacked agency and that Jake was making too many decisions alone. Cameron adjusted the dynamic so Neytiri actively urges Jake to act on behalf of their people. That change reframed Jake’s reluctant return to Toruk Makto as a conscious, shared choice rather than a surprise revelation (via Slash Film).

As a result, the Toruk Makto sequence added dramatic weight to the final battle and created a direct parallel to the first film’s climax. Cameron said the change “works beautifully” and that the cast responded enthusiastically to the revised ending.

Avatar: Fire and Ash was released on December 19, 2025.

Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on SuperHeroHype.com.

Source: Comingsoon.net