When audiences all over the world fell in love with Pandora in Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, they came to know the moon as one of picturesque beauty, teeming with life. From the bluest skies, greenest jungles, and clearest ocean to the stunning bioluminescence throughout, Pandora has always been a bright, appealing place. But in the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash, audiences will meet the Mangkwan Clan, also known as the Ash Clan, and see their home: the Ash Village, completely lacking in the color we’ve come to expect from Pandora.
Production designer Dylan Cole explains, “[The Mangkwan] had a natural disaster befall them, and that sort of helped shaped their culture.” Even amidst disaster, on Pandora there is always a connection between the people and their home. The above concept art for the Ash Village reveals how, as Cole puts it, “So much of the world of Pandora is rich and vibrant and full of life — this is just the exact opposite.” At the center of the village are the remains of what was once a giant hometree. “They used to live not too dissimilarly to the Omatikaya from Avatar,” says Cole. Also pictured in the above concept art is the leader of the Mangkwan Clan, Varang (played by Oona Chaplin) and her flying Nightwraith. Cole laughs, “We jokingly call [the Nightwraith] Ashley.”
In addition to the Ash Clan, Avatar: Fire and Ash will introduce audiences to the Wind Traders, who take to Pandora’s beautiful skies. Ben Procter, also a production designer, says of the film series: “Each new film gives us a chance to open up a door that was closed before and go, ‘Check this out.’” Pandora: the gift that keeps on giving.
Stay tuned to Avatar.com for all the latest news on Avatar: Fire and Ash, only in theaters December 19.
This information originally appeared in Empire magazine.