Summary
AlthoughAvatar’s Dream Hunt was cut from the original movie, the missing sequence remains surprisingly central to understanding the entire story of the franchise. Since there aremany upcomingAvatarmovies, viewers could be forgiven for assuming that there is no shortage of insights into the world of Pandora. Director James Cameron’s epic sci-fi franchise comes complete with tie-in books, comics, and other spinoff media, as well asAvatarandAvatar: The Way of Waterthemselves. However, asAvatar 3’s storywill prove, there are still plenty of elements of Na’vi life and culture that remain under-explored.
This is not necessarily a bad thing since it means that the subsequentAvatarmovies can focus on these unseen parts of Pandora. However, the franchise has occasionally jettisoned material that could have helped decode the story of the series. For example, some ofAvatar’s missing scenes are surprisingly central to understanding the themes of the movie. Cameron’s blockbuster was criticized for its predictable, overly familiar plot upon release, but a look back onAvatar’s deleted scenes proves that the world of the franchise is more immersive and imaginative than it may initially seem.
Avatar: The Way Of Water Ending Explained
Avatar: The Way of Water’s ending sets up a few storylines for its remaining sequels to tackle. Here’s how the Avatar 2 ending explained what’s next.
Avatar’s Missing Dream Hunt Explains Jake Sully’s Character Arc
Jake’s Psychedelic Initiation Ritual Justifies His Change Of Heart
InAvatar’s original script, Jake Sully takes part in a Na’vi ceremony called a Dream Hunt. A coming-of-age ritual,the Dream Hunt is a risky hallucinogenic journey that initiates a member of the Omatikaya clan into adulthood. The process involves allowing oneself to be stung by a poisonous creature, with the venom then causing trippy hallucinations and, in some cases, death. Jake undergoes this experience to cement his status as one of the Omatikaya, earning their trust and leading him to disavowStephen Lang’sAvatarvillain Quaritch. Along the way, Jake also has a handful of important insights.
Jake sees the forests of Pandora on fire, an image that becomes a tragic reality in the opening scene of Avatar: The Way of Water.
Jake’s visions can only be glimpsed in the unfinished deleted scene, which was never fully animated. However, they are pivotal to understanding the story of the series as a whole. Jake sees the forests of Pandora on fire, an image that becomes a tragic reality in the opening scene ofAvatar: The Way of Water. At this moment, he predicts the RDA’s return over a decade before it happens. This redoubles his commitment to the Omatikaya, turning Jake from a human spy into a true ally for the Na’vi. Without this experience, Jake’s motivations are less clear.
Jake’s Hallucinations Foreshadowed The Way of Water’s Opening Scene
Avatar’s Hero Sees Pandora’s Forests Set Ablaze
Jake’s visions of Pandora’s lush forests set ablaze by invaders become a reality when the RDA returns inAvatar: The Way of Water’s beginning. WhileAvatar 3’s Fire Na’viprove that the element has a place in the world of Pandora, the images that come to Jake are ones of indiscriminate environmental destruction.Jake realizes that he is aligned with the franchise’s villains during his Dream Hunt, and the deleted scene’s events are instrumental in his decision to leave the RDA behind to fight among the Omatikaya. This complicates another story strand.
In the Dream Hunt sequence, Jake’s destiny is set in stone by a vision.
InAvatar, it seems as though Jake’s romance with Neytiri is the most compelling cause of his change in allegiances. Although Jake recognizes the evils of the RDA’s actions, he also still sees himself as more human than Na’vi. It is connecting with Neytiri romantically that changes this perception. In contrast, in the Dream Hunt sequence, Jake’s destiny is set in stone by a vision. On the one hand, this is arguably a more clichéd motivation. On the other hand, it makes Neytiri’s role less predictable since she doesn’t exist primarily to bring Jake to the side of good.
Avatar’s Dream Hunt Revealed Another Pivotal Piece of Series Lore
Jake’s Successful Imitation Proves Avatars Are Real Na’Vi
Before Jake takes the Dream Hunt, Grace and Norm understandably worry that a process that sometimes kills Na’vi will almost certainly do damage to an avatar. His survival and vision quest proves that avatars are, for all intents and purposes, really Na’vi after all.Jake proves avatars are real Na’vi in this deleted scene, thus settling a debate that still rages among the franchise’s fandom online. There is also an argument to be made that Jake’s survival proves he really is a chosen one of sorts, given how risky the Dream Hunt ceremony is.
That said, Jake’s status as a savior isn’t necessarily a good thing for the franchise.Avatar’s sequels could kill off Jakeand replace him with a new hero to prove that his resistance to oppression was his greatest contribution. Centering Jake alone as a singular special hero devalues this idea. As a result,Avatarcutting the Dream Hunt sequence did make the franchise’s message clearer. However,Avatar’s most important missing scene still deserves a place in the finished film.
