The Entire Avatar Franchise Is Presented in 10 Interactive Infographics.
Since the release of the original Avatar in 2009, James Cameron’s epic interstellar franchise has captured popular culture with the incredible force of an RDA battalion invading a distant moon. It has grown from a single film into an omni-franchise—a $10 billion entertainment ecosystem encompassing three feature films, two AAA video games, seven major comic book series, a Disney theme park, and even a Cirque du Soleil show.
Given the films’ combined nine-hour runtime and 150 years of internal chronology, following Pandora’s story can be challenging; Cameron is known for his obsession with worldbuilding, encompassing everything from a fully functioning alien language to scientifically sound lunar botany. To make sense of it all, I’ve distilled the Avatar universe down to 10 essential interactive infographics, spanning the franchise’s past, present, and future.
Biological differences between humans and the Na’vi people.
The differences between the human and Na’vi bodies go beyond the blue pigment. From their “biological web” to their prehensile tails, the Na’vi are a masterpiece of fictional biology. Every anatomical difference between humans and Na’vi helps illustrate their evolutionary advantage on Pandora. This graphic shows how the natives compare to us, the “sky people.” (Hover over the various headings for more information.)
Tribes of Pandora
Pandora is a culturally diverse world, where hundreds of Na’vi tribes are scattered across numerous bioluminescent biomes. To bring these civilizations to life, James Cameron’s team drew inspiration from Earth’s indigenous populations, combining the aesthetic and cultural details of real civilizations with fantastical alien societies.
Avatar chronology
From first contact in 2119 to the proposed “Next Generation” in the late 2170s, this timeline traces the key events of the 150-year struggle for control of Pandora.
The scientific basis of the Avatar project
The Avatar Project, at the heart of the franchise, is a cutting-edge program that uses genetically engineered Na’vi-human hybrids to allow humans to safely exist in the hostile environment of Pandora. On the surface, it’s a sci-fi way to explain the logistics of exploring an alien world, but on a deeper, thematic level, the Avatar Project is the story of humans spending trillions of dollars on advanced technology so they can experience the world for free, the Na’vi way. (There’s a lot more to Avatar than you think!) Here’s how the Avatar Project works.
The most memorable vehicles and weapons from the movie “Avatar” .
Avatar’s main message might be how much better our lives would be if we spent all day touching grass instead of technology, but the ships and weapons in the films are so meticulously designed and simply cool that it’s clear their creators simply love technology.
Where in the galaxy is Pandora located?
The alien planet from Avatar is a real place. In a sense. In the movies, it’s located in Alpha Centauri. Our real-life explorations of this nearby solar system haven’t revealed a gas giant with a habitable moon like the Polyphemus from the movies, but we have found planets in Alpha Centauri’s “habitable zone”—a region where temperatures allow liquid water and, theoretically, life. So giant cat-like aliens might actually live there; who knows.
Avatar Language
The Na’vi language isn’t just movie gibberish. James Cameron hired linguistics professor Paul Frommer to develop a spoken language with its own grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of over 2,500 words. Here’s a quick overview of Pandora’s linguistic DNA.
The Avatar Expanded Universe
If nine hours of watching the Avatar films isn’t enough, the games, comics, and theme park rides are enough to fully immerse you in the world of Avatar. Below is a brief overview of all the official additional content for the franchise.
Avatar’s box office performance in context
The locals on Pandora don’t need money, but here on Earth, it’s very important, so let’s look at Avatar’s box office, which is quite significant—in terms of total revenue, the franchise includes two of the three highest-grossing films of all time. Adjusted for inflation , Avatar trails Gone with the Wind slightly, but second place is still a decent result, considering the $4 billion consolation prize.
The Future of Avatar
I’m no psychic, but I’m willing to bet there are more Na’vi adventures ahead. (At least, there are two more films in development right now.) Here’s what we know about future films in the Avatar universe.