James Cameron links Avatar to today's wars

Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron has long explored themes of colonisation, exploitation and the moral cost of so-called progress, and those ideas once again sit at the heart of the Avatar film series. From its first instalment, the franchise has examined what happens when powerful outsiders descend on a vulnerable world in pursuit of resources, using violence and domination to justify their ambitions.

Speaking about his latest release Avatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron said the issues raised in the story are not confined to science fiction but are clearly reflected in contemporary global conflicts. The director made the comments during a conversation with Brandon Davis on the Director Debrief podcast, where he discussed the depiction of war, suffering and moral responsibility in action cinema.

Cameron said the themes explored in the film are painfully recognisable in today's world, pointing to ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine. He argued that the cycle of violence portrayed in the Avatar universe mirrors the real-world reality in which conflict often escalates rather than resolves, regardless of who claims the moral high ground.

During the podcast, Davis questioned Cameron about his portrayal of large-scale warfare in the film and his deliberate focus on the pain endured by those positioned as the "good side" of the conflict. Cameron explained that showing violence responsibly requires careful balance, stressing that action films must avoid glorifying destruction or turning suffering into spectacle.

According to the director, it is essential to draw what he described as a "fine line" when depicting conflict on screen. While action is central to the Avatar franchise, Cameron believes filmmakers have a responsibility to acknowledge the human - or in this case, sentient - cost of violence rather than presenting it as consequence-free entertainment.

This philosophy is reflected in the film's depiction of the Tulkun, a pacifist species within the Avatar universe. Cameron explained that the Tulkun adhere to a belief system rooted in the idea that killing inevitably leads to further killing, creating an endless and expanding cycle of violence. He said this worldview closely resembles what is currently unfolding across several conflict zones around the globe.

"We see it again and again," Cameron noted, drawing parallels with real-world wars. He said the same destructive patterns can be observed in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, where cycles of retaliation continue to deepen suffering and instability.

Despite this pacifist philosophy, Cameron acknowledged that Avatar is, at its core, an action franchise and therefore could not avoid depicting combat altogether. However, he stressed that any fighting shown in the film had to be grounded in moral necessity rather than aggression for its own sake.

In Fire and Ash, the Tulkun are forced to confront the possibility that there are moments when resistance becomes unavoidable. Cameron said the story explores how even a deeply peaceful culture may be compelled to fight when faced with total destruction. In such cases, he argued, the conflict becomes existential - a matter of survival rather than conquest.

This, Cameron explained, stands in sharp contrast to wars driven by ideology, power or expansion. He described such conflicts as "war for war's sake" and pointed to historical examples, including the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars, to illustrate how prolonged military engagement often leads to devastation without clear moral justification or lasting resolution.

In a separate interview with Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ, Cameron said these themes are not new but recur throughout human history. He reflected on the way fiction often draws directly from real-world experiences, even when set in fantastical or alien environments.

"It's striking," Cameron said, "that people can escape into a story set in a completely imagined universe, yet what they ultimately encounter there is a reflection of ourselves." He suggested that audiences are often more willing to confront uncomfortable truths about humanity when they are presented through the lens of science fiction.

Cameron also revealed that he made a significant creative decision after principal filming on Avatar: Fire and Ash had already been completed. Known for his perfectionism and willingness to revisit scenes long after production ends, the director said he altered the film's conclusion after rethinking its historical implications.

In an interview with The National, Cameron explained that the original ending involved the franchise's central character, Jake Sully, distributing human weapons to the indigenous tribes of Pandora. This would have culminated in a climactic, weapon-heavy finale.

However, Cameron said he ultimately rejected the idea after realising it echoed patterns from colonial history.