Now that Avatar: The Way of Water has finally seen the light of day, it's time to ponder what's going to happen next. With several Avatar sequels already well into production, it's inevitable that there would at least be a few plot points that would be setting up the upcoming installments.
Avatar: The Way of Water does tell a completely original story that works on its own as well as a sequel to the original. Though its place in the larger franchise does leave a couple of plot threads hanging, just enough to give audiences an interest in returning to Pandora in the future.
Spoilers ahead!
5 Kiri's Father
In the first film, the key character Dr. Grace Augustine is fatally shot. Though the Na'vi attempt to transfer Grace's soul into her avatar body, they're unsuccessful and Grace dies. Prior to the events of The Way of Water, however, Grace's avatar becomes mysteriously pregnant. She later gives birth to Kiri, who becomes Jake's adopted daughter and a key character in the sequel.
The main question here is, who is Kiri's father? This is a mystery that Kiri openly addresses near the beginning of the movie, and it's certainly a valid question as there aren't really any characters in the Avatar franchise who would appear as likely candidates. Avatar: The Way of Water introduces several new characters, but with nearly all of them being either Jake's family, the water-dwelling Metkayina, or the newly-arrived American soldiers, it's more likely than not that Kiri's father hasn't been introduced yet.
4 Kiri's Seizure
Another plot point The Way of Water sets up for its sequel involving Kiri has to do with her seizure. Partway through the movie, Kiri attempts to link herself with the Metkayina Spirit Tree as a means of connecting with Grace's spirit. The attempt is unsuccessful, however, as Kiri suffers from a violent seizure and just barely survives. Jake learns that the next time Kiri tries to connect herself with the Spirit Tree, she'll die.
Kiri's seizure is one of the more tense scenes in The Way of Water, so the idea that a similar plot point could come into play in a later sequel is nail-biting. What makes this more suspenseful is that Kiri has no idea that she'll die the next time she connects with the Spirit Tree. One could only imagine that Kiri will likely try again to find Grace's spirit, which may only lead to more tragedy.
3 The Amrita
When humans finally return to Pandora, audiences are initially told that they plan on repurposing the moon for human inhabitance. Later, however, an even more desirable reason to invade Pandora is introduced. Hunting down a tulkin, an intelligent whale-like creature in Pandora's oceans, the human scientists discover that they can create anti-aging remedies by harvesting their brain enzymes. These remedies are called "amrita".
Despite some attention being drawn to this plot point, it becomes forgotten for the rest of the story. This can only mean one thing: the amrita will most definitely become important later on in the Avatar franchise. The human invaders now have an even greater reason to invade Pandora, which will only increase the pressure faced by the Na'vi. The exploitation of tulkins for amrita is also an extension of the theme of environmental protection and human exploitation that is relevant in both films, so it will undoubtedly be something Cameron explores in the sequels.
2 Colonel Miles Quaritch's Survival
After his conscience is uploaded into another avatar, Miles Quaritch departs on a mission to enact revenge against Jake and his family. Near the end of the film, it seems as though Quaritch is about to drown in the sinking vessel. It's here when the original Quaritch's son, Spider, decides to venture back into the vessel to rescue Quaritch. He drags Quaritch, though immediately renounces him and decides to return to Jake and his family.
Every action-adventure franchise needs a major villain for the heroes to face, and that villain for the Avatar franchise happens to be Quaritch. It should come as no surprise that Quaritch's vendetta against Jake is far from over. It's unclear exactly where Quaritch will go from here, being left in the middle of nowhere without any other American soldiers to help him. Though the sequels will surely find a way to keep Quaritch as a menacing force within the franchise.
1 The Human Invaders
It would be nice if Quaritch was all that Jake and the rest of the Na'vi had to worry about. Unfortunately, Quaritch is just one of the thousands who want to conquer Pandora. At the end of the first movie, the Americans who haven't sided with the Na'vi are sent back to Earth. That changes when at the beginning of The Way of Water when humans return to claim Pandora as their new home. As opposed to the first movie, the humans are still inhabitants of Pandora by the time The Way of Water's credits roll.
Unlike Quaritch, the rest of the humans have priorities far beyond simply killing Jake and his family. They have more than a few incentives to stay and take advantage of Pandora's valuable resources, regardless of how much destruction they cause to Pandora's flora and fauna. It's likely that the briefly-introduced General Frances Ardmore will become a bigger threat within future stories, as Edie Falco is a bit too well-known to be relegated to such a small character. The machines that she introduces to Quaritch, which can build architecture at an alarming speed, are also set up but not paid off in The Way of Water, meaning that they might return in the future. Nonetheless, the human invasion of Pandora has only just begun, and the battle for Pandora is far from over.
Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters.