The cast, behindthescenes team, and Cameron himself unpack how they realized the skyborn clan of Na'vi. James Cameron and Avatar: Fire and Ash cast break down the voyage of the Wind Traders (exclusive) The cast, behindthescenes team, and Cameron himself unpack how they realized the skyborn clan of Na'vi. By Nick Romano :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/NicholasRomanoauthorphotoadc9b60763e34711935cbf7b3d768d24.jpg) Nick Romano is a senior editor at with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

The cast, behind-the-scenes team, and Cameron himself unpack how they realized the sky-born clan of Na'vi.

James Cameron and Avatar: Fire and Ash cast break down the voyage of the Wind Traders (exclusive)

The cast, behind-the-scenes team, and Cameron himself unpack how they realized the sky-born clan of Na'vi.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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December 4, 2025 12:00 p.m. ET

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According to James Cameron, the team behind the *Avatar* movies "always world-build so much more than what finally winds up in the movie." A good example is the clan of Wind Traders of *Avatar: Fire and Ash* (in theaters Dec. 19).

This sky-born group of Na'vi are not as prominent within the grander story of the franchise's third movie as the other characters, but they make their mark. For **'s "It Takes a Village" video series, the director and key cast and department heads break down a specific scene in the film: the moment Wind Traders set sail.

David Thewlis portrays Peylak, leader of the Wind Traders, who are nomadic traders that deliver their goods across Pandora by way of a flying caravan. They essentially ride a floating galleon, pulled through the sky by a cuttlefish- and manta ray-inspired Wind Ray.

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Cameron calls their vessel the "biggest performance-capture set we ever built," noting how it "filled the sound stage from end to end."

Crafts team members Richard Baneham (visual effects supervisor/virtual second unit director), Deborah L. Scott (costume designer), and Dylan Cole (production designer) explain the intricacies of this particular clan, from their colorful garb to the fact that their hair braids are wrapped tightly around their necks. The team confirms the film doesn't explain much about Wind Trader culture, but you can see it in the details of the sequence.

Stars Sam Worthington (Jake), Zoe Saldaña (Neytiri), Sigourney Weaver (Kiri), and Jack Champion (Spider) comment on the performance. Thewlis "got thrown right in the deep end," Worthington says. "It took him a while to understand the mechanics of how we shoot these things."

Wind Trader concept art for 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'.

Dylan Cole/20th Century Studios

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*Avatar: Fire and Ash* picks up after the events of 2022's *Avatar: The Way of Water*. The Sullys still mourn the loss of their son, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters). The crafts team points out Neytiri's funeral paint in the Wind Traders scene.

Amid the still-churning war between the Na'vi and the human RDA colonization of the planet, the family is forced to face the Ash People, a volcanic clan of Na'vi led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). The team teases a fight sequence involving the Ash People and the Wind Traders.

Watch the full scene breakdown in the video above.

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Source: Sci-Fi

Published: December 05, 2025 at 08:38AM on Source: ANDY MAG

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