Warning: SPOILERS for Avatar: The Way of Water.

James Cameron’s debuting a ruthless new Na’vi tribe in Avatar: Fire and Ash, and they’re bound to become even more dangerous by allying with Quaritch. CinemaCon’s Avatar 3 footage provided new glimpses at the upcoming sequel’s two new Na’vi tribes, the Wind Traders and the Ash People. This included a few major revelations, such as that the Ash People (or Fire Na’vi) have the ability to actually control fire. It also contained a few hints about the direction Avatar: Fire and Ash’s story will be taking.

Although Cameron had already indicated as much before, it’s now much more abundantly clear that the Fire Na’vi will become the Sully clan’s newest antagonists in Avatar: Fire and Ash. While not all of the Metkayina were entirely welcoming at the beginning of Avatar: The Way of Water, this was mostly an issue among the children. The Ash People seem far more antagonistic as a whole, and the CinemaCon footage reveals how one ᴅᴇᴀᴅly alliance will make them an even greater danger for the heroes of the Avatar 3 cast.

Quaritch Teaming Up With The Fire Na’vi In Avatar 3 Means They’ll Be More Ruthless Than Expected

He Could Convince An Already Volatile Tribe That Sully’s A Traitor To Their Kind

The CinemaCon footage of Avatar: Fire and Ash shows Quaritch donning the Ash People’s face paint, suggesting that Quaritch will be working with the Na’vi for the first time. It’s likely that the two are simply working together for the sake of fighting a common enemy, but Quaritch makes the Fire Na’vi more dangerous because he already understands Jake’s war strategies. He was dangerous enough when he only knew how to predict Jake’s thought process as a jarhead, but The Way of Water taught him to better understand how the Omatikaya and Metkayina fight, as well.

Not only can Quaritch help the Fire Na’vi understand Jake as a strategist, but it’s plausible that the Ash People will be fueled by Quaritch’s motivations in addition to their own. Depending on how they wound up isolated in a volcano, they might respond to Quaritch’s characterization of Jake as a man who fought his own people. Additionally, James Cameron suggested Avatar 3 will focus on grief, and Quaritch is a man who now likely blames Jake for Spider rejecting him. These one-sided stories of familial betrayal may very well intensify the Ash People’s hatred for the Sullys.

What Quaritch Having A Na’vi Tribe On His Side Means For His War With The Sullys After The Way Of Water

He’ll Have Access To Completely New Strategies Sully Won’t Be As Prepared For

Thanks in part to Lo’ak taking over as narrator, there are rumors that Jake Sully will die in Avatar: Fire and Ash. It wouldn’t be surprising, since Quaritch and the Fire Na’vi both have something to offer each other. While Quaritch can provide insight into Jake’s strategies, the Fire Na’vi can teach Quaritch to employ strategies that Jake’s never fought against before. Firebending likely isn’t the only trick they have up their sleeve, and it’s their more general strategies that pose the biggest threat, because Jake is generally a tactical thinker.

On the other hand, the tables could easily turn in the other direction. Quaritch actor Stephen Lang has previously said that his storyline in Avatar: Fire and Ash is “not a straight journey,” and he seemed hesitant to give much away at all. The Fire Na’vi have been characterized as generally distrusting, so there’s every possibility that they’ll turn on Quaritch and force him into an even more unlikely team-up. Quaritch and Sully did technically start out on the same side, so it would theoretically be the best way to bring them full circle for the threequel.