The latest trailer for James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire & Ash has revealed plenty of exciting details about the upcoming sequel, including the backstory of the new Ash People and the humans’ latest plan for invading and colonizing Pandora. The trailer teased plenty of huge set pieces and major character twists, proving that Cameron still has plenty of ideas for this franchise.

There will reportedly be five Avatar movies in James Cameron’s blockbuster series, with the sequels scheduled all the way up to 2031. So far, each installment has followed a very different story. It seems like Fire & Ash will be no different. However, there’s one moment in the latest trailer that hints towards what could end up being Avatar‘s overarching narrative.

Avatar: Fire & Ash Proves That Humans Can Live On Pandora Naturally

One of the biggest reveals from the latest Avatar 3 trailer is that Spider has somehow gained the ability to breathe in Pandora without using his mask. This is a huge development that’s going to have even bigger repercussions for the franchise as a whole, as Pandora’s inhabitable atmosphere is the entire reason humans created avatars in the first place.

Now that Spider has proven humans can live on Pandora naturally, the humans are going to be racing to claim this ability for themselves and potentially wipe out the Na’vi for good. Jake explicitly remarks upon this in the trailer: “What if every human being on Earth could live here without a mask? Then the Na’vi people would be gone.”

Though it’s only mentioned briefly in the trailer, I’m confident that this will be a major subplot of the Avatar franchise going forward — potentially even the main storyline of the final two movies. It hasn’t been confirmed exactly how Spider developed this ability, but the trailer seems to indicate that it was gifted unto him by Eywa.

There’s a brief sH๏τ in the latest Avatar 3 trailer where Spider is seemingly unconscious, or even ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, and Eywa (through the Tree of Souls) brings him back to life. From here, it seems as though Spider won’t need his mask anymore. He’s even capable of Tsaheylu, the ancient Na’vi tradition of bonding one’s body with another Na’vi.

If Spider’s ability is a gift from Eywa, and not some kind of biological evolution, it will be very hard for the other humans to replicate. There will be lots of blood spilled in the humans’ quest to conquer Pandora, and they may even try to manipulate the Tree of Souls to grant them the same abilities it gave to Spider.

This feels like the beginning of an existential threat for the Na’vi, and that’s ultimately what the Avatar franchise has always been about. Cameron’s movies are clearly thinly veiled allegories for Western imperialism and colonization, so it makes sense that the next step in the humans’ plan would be taking over Pandora entirely.

Spider Could Be The Key To The Humans Conquering Pandora For Good

For a long time now, fans have been heavily theorizing that Jake Sully could die in Avatar: Fire & Ash. The suggestion definitely makes sense, as The Way of Water spent lots of time and effort developing his relationship with his children, with the implication that they’ll carry his legacy when he’s gone.

If Cameron really does kill Jake in Fire & Ash, that perfectly sets the stage for Spider to step up as the real protagonist of the Avatar franchise since he’s the bridge between the human and Na’vi societies. And now that he can breathe without a mask in Pandora, he’s literally both human and Na’vi — meaning he essentially holds the future of Pandora in his hands.

There must be a reason why Eywa chose him to bear this mᴀssive responsibility by giving him this unique ability. Perhaps she wanted to test Spider’s loyalty to the Na’vi (given his relationship with Quatrich), or perhaps she views him as the only human who deserves to live among the Na’vi people. Either way, it’s clear he’s a very special character.

Spider’s new powers also give the humans an opportunity to level the playing field with the Na’vi, raising the stakes of any future conflict. The Na’vi have beaten the humans pretty decisively every time they’ve fought each other, but if the humans didn’t have to rely on their flawed avatars, the battles would be a lot more consequential.

Each Avatar movie has introduced a new tribe of increasingly powerful Na’vi people, from the Metkayina Clan in The Way of Water to the Ash People and Wind Traders in Fire & Ash. Because of this structure, the Na’vi are getting increasingly more powerful with each pᴀssing installment. The humans need their own upgrade to keep the stakes high, and Spider gives them that chance.

James Cameron has always been open about this being a five-movie franchise, proving that he has a clear blueprint in his mind about how this series is going to play out. The pieces are already being put in place for Avatar‘s endgame, and right now, Spider’s new abilities in Avatar: Fire and Ash feel like the key to unlocking that.