Avatar 5's Earth Story Creates A Big Timeline Problem For The Franchise's Ending

Avatar 5 is gearing up to feature the franchise's first big Earth story, but this could also set up a major problem with the Avatar timeline. Like many of James Cameron's other franchises, the Avatar series has meticulous attention to detail, with the world-building of Pandora being incredibly in-depth. Because of this, Avatar 5's Earth storyline will definitely have a major impact on the rest of the films, with it possibly ruining the franchise's timeline.

James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar was a massive success, leading to the creation of a heavily planned-out Avatar franchise. The film's sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, didn't release until 13 years later in 2022, but the films will move at a much faster pace from now on. Avatar 3, Avatar 4, and Avatar 5 will all release by 2028, with the fifth film concluding the exciting series. Not much is known about the next three Avatar movies, but they will undoubtedly be just as exciting and expansive as their predecessors. However, the fifth film also has the chance to completely mess up the timeline.

Avatar 5's Journey To Earth Will Require A Massive Time Jump

Avatar producer Jon Landau has confirmed that the Na'vi will travel to Earth in Avatar 5, which is an exciting prospect for the future of the franchise. Apparently, Jake Sully and the rest of the main cast will team up to save Earth, possibly redeeming the franchise's villainous humans. Details are still slim on how the Na'vi make their way from Pandora to Earth, but it will undoubtedly require some space travel. Avatar hasn't really explored the possibility of space travel yet, but it has confirmed some details. In the Avatar universe, the journey from Earth to Pandora takes 4 to 6 years.

This 4 to 6 year travel time sets up some problems, as it is an incredibly long time. In order to have the Na'vi travel to Earth in Avatar 5, the film will have to feature a massive time jump, aging all of the characters up by around half a decade. By the time they make it to Earth, entre storylines could have taken place, meaning that the universe could be entirely different. This is an even bigger problem if the Na'vi are traveling back and forth between Pandora and Earth, as each journey will require the film to have another 4 to 6 year time jump.

Avatar 5's Space Travel Is A Problem For Characters Left Behind

Avatar 5's space travel may be a problem for the franchise's timeline as well as the characters making the trek, but it is also a problem for the characters that are left behind. Obviously not every Na'vi from Pandora will travel to Earth, with some being left behind on the alien planet. By the time the Sully family returns to Pandora, these characters who were left behind will be 8 to 12 years older. Having a decade pass without interactions between these characters could seriously throw off Avatar's dynamic, shifting how many of the side characters function within the series.

On top of that, the ages of all the Na'vi on Pandora will be thrown off in Avatar 5. By the time that the Sully family returns to Earth, many kids will be adults, many adults will be elders, and many elders will be dead. Plus, the RDA could change the planet in Jake Sully's absence. The RDA has shown how much damage they can do in only a few days, so the company having a decade alone on Pandora could make conditions even worse. The Sully family traveling to Earth has the potential to be an exciting story, but it could also wreck everything.

How Avatar 5 Can Fix Its Space Travel Timeline Problem

While the idea of having the Na'vi travel to Earth in Avatar 5 seems broken on its face, there are some ways that the movie can fix this timeline problem. Avatar 5 could reveal that the Na'vi or the humans have developed a faster method of space travel, allowing the journey between Earth and Pandora to be much shorter. It's possible that the RDA's intercontinental transportation system could now work throughout space, giving the Na'vi a path to Earth. However, even if the travel time is only four years, it wouldn't be that bad as long as the journey is only made once in Avatar 5's timeline.