WARNING: Contains spoilers for Avatar: The Way Of Water
It would be accurate to describe James Cameron’s long-awaited sci-fi sequel Avatar: The Way Of Water as, well, as whale of a time at the cinema – and it’s rarely more visually resplendent than when pointing its (largely virtual) lens at Payakan. The majestic, colossal ‘Tulkun’ who befriends Jake and Neytiri’s son Lo’ak has become a firm fan favourite – not only garnering sympathy for his tragic backstory, but kicking some serious Recom ass in the final reel too. He even gets his own ultra-hissable baddie, Brendan Cowell’s Mick Scoresby, through the course of the film – a hunter who’s made a trade of selling life-extending Tulkun brain-goo for major financial gain.
The good news for Avatar fans is, there’ll be more Payakan to come in the upcoming Avatar 3. According to producer Jon Landau, he’ll be back – and acting in a deeper capacity than in Way Of Water. “We view Payakan as a character, not just as a creature,” he tells Empire. “We will continue to explore his relationship with Lo’ak.” Spelling more trouble, though, is the confirmation that Scoresby will be returning too – likely even more dangerous than before, since Payakan caused him to lose an arm in The Way Of Water’s action-packed finale.
If Cameron’s sequel made anything clear, with the introduction of Edie Falco’s General Ardmore as the leader of the RDA, it’s that the war for Pandora is far from over. “Way Of Water was Quaritch’s vendetta but Ardmore’s, or the RDA’s, goals have not changed,” confirms Landau. We're calling the title now: all aboard the hype train for 'Avatar: The Return Of Payakan' in 2024.
Read Empire’s full Avatar 3 report in the Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania issue – on sale Thursday 19 January and available to order online here. Avatar: The Way Of Water is out now in UK cinemas.