Will Lo’ak Become the Main Protagonist in Avatar 4?
Fans of the Avatar series have wondered if Lo’ak, Jake Sully’s rebellious teenage son played by Britain Dalton, will step into the spotlight as the main hero in Avatar 4. While no official plot details confirm this, clues from Avatar: Fire and Ash and early reports point to Lo’ak playing a bigger role as the story shifts focus. For more on the cast and release, check out this breakdown from GamesRadar at https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/avatar-4-release-date-cast-trailer-plot/.
In Avatar: Fire and Ash, which hit theaters in 2025, Lo’ak emerges as a key figure. The movie splits its focus between him and other family members as they deal with grief over Neteyam’s death from The Way of Water. Lo’ak grieves his “golden child” brother while pushing to make his dad Jake notice him. He fights for his beliefs, including his bond with the Tulkun Payakan and a romance with Tsireya. This sets him up as more than just a sidekick, showing his growth amid family drama and new threats like the villain Varang. A review captures this shift well in https://ashabardoneye.substack.com/p/avatar-fire-and-ash-2025-review.
Avatar 4, due out on December 19, 2029, builds on these threads. Filming has wrapped about a third of it already, right after Fire and Ash. Expect another time jump, so Lo’ak and the younger Na’vi like Spider, Tuktirey, and Kiri will age up into adults. The story expands beyond Pandora to Earth, tackling overpopulation and resource shortages, as producer Jon Landau noted. New elements include frostier Arctic-like areas on Pandora, the Wind Traders clan led by Peylak (David Thewlis), and lingering foes like Colonel Quaritch and Varang, who survived with guns now in Na’vi hands. Details from Esquire highlight these setups in https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a69819287/avatar-4-cast-news/.
James Cameron has not named a single main protagonist for the later films. Fire and Ash avoids one clear hero, instead showing different ways characters handle trauma, loss, and invasion through Jake, Neytiri, and others. Lo’ak’s arc fits this, as he embodies the next generation’s struggles. With Jake and Neytiri as parents facing ongoing hunts by Quaritch, the spotlight could naturally move to their son. Cameron reworked Fire and Ash’s ending to fit a bigger vision saved for Avatar 4 and beyond, as explained in The National at https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/film-tv/2025/12/19/avatar-fire-and-ash-ending-explained-james-cameron-reshoots/.
Lo’ak’s path from troubled kid to potential leader makes him a strong pick for center stage. His story ties into Eywa’s mysteries through Kiri, human-Na’vi tensions via Spider’s new breathing ability, and clan wars with Varang’s Ash People. As the series heads to five films total, passing the torch to Lo’ak would refresh the action while keeping family at the heart.
Sources
https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/sci-fi-movies/avatar-4-release-date-cast-trailer-plot/
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a69819287/avatar-4-cast-news/
https://ashabardoneye.substack.com/p/avatar-fire-and-ash-2025-review
https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/film-tv/2025/12/19/avatar-fire-and-ash-ending-explained-james-cameron-reshoots/
