James Cameron Saved Avatar 3’s Best Scene Instead of Using It in The Way of Water

James Cameron watched the new Avatar: Fire and Ash trailer break the internet, then casually admitted to Variety that one of its biggest moments almost didn’t exist. The giant red sky dragon? The Toruk? That comeback was a last-minute pivot. And honestly, it was the right call.

The Toruk problem Cameron fixed midstream

Cameron originally planned to save Toruk for a later sequel. But while rewriting Fire and Ash, he felt a hole in the story. The logic question fans have had since 2009 popped up: if Jake once rode the legendary big red bird and turned the tide of war, why wouldn’t he do that again when things get dire?

So Cameron did the thing: he pulled Toruk forward, rewrote pages, and went back to shoot two or three new scenes, cutting other material to make it fit. He even poked fun at himself for not being a genius screenwriter and just doing the obvious, story-cleaning move. He says the film is now a three-hour spectacle. The actual runtime? 3h 12m.

"I was saving it for a later film... F**k that! He should get the bird. Get the Toruk."

Quick refresher: why Toruk matters to Jake

Toruk, aka the Great Leonopteryx, is the Na'vi’s near-mythic apex flyer. Only a handful of riders in their history have ever tamed one. In the first Avatar, Jake bonded with Toruk at his lowest point, after losing Neytiri’s trust and the Omatikaya’s respect. Becoming Toruk Makto instantly elevated him across the clans and helped rally the Na'vi against the RDA.

When the war ended, Jake let Toruk go. We didn’t see the creature at all in Avatar: The Way of Water. Jake and his family stayed mobile on skimwings while being hunted; no Toruk cavalry charges this time. Still, that bond clearly wasn’t broken — because the bird is back in Avatar 3.

Why bring Toruk back now?

In this franchise, Toruk showing up basically means the sky is on fire. Back in 2009, Jake turned to Toruk after Hometree fell and the Na'vi were on the brink. Fire and Ash looks like another all-hands-on-deck situation. The trailer teases a bigger war than before: Quaritch returns with his Recombinants, Varang is leading dangerous attacks, and the humans have leveled up with advanced war machines like Crab Suits — nastier than anything we saw in the earlier films.

So yeah, this is not just a nostalgic cameo. It’s a necessary escalation. Expect the kind of large-scale action, sacrifice, and emotional gut punches that come when the Na'vi fight for their home with everything they’ve got — including the biggest, baddest flyer on Pandora.

Need-to-know basics

• Director: James Cameron
• Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore
• Runtime: 3h 12m (Cameron calls it a three-hour spectacle)
• Release date: December 19, 2025

Toruk swooping back into the story earlier than planned is one of those inside-baseball moves that both fixes a nagging logic issue and cranks up the spectacle. Honestly, it’s the obvious move — and sometimes obvious is exactly what the story needs.

How do you feel about Jake calling in the big red bird again in Fire and Ash?