The Way Of Water’s Research Is More Extensive Than You Think

Avatar: The Way of Water, which debuted more than a decade after Avatar, has been a massive success and become the third highest-grossing movie of all time after topping the box office. The second installment of the Sully saga introduced Jake and Neytiri’s children as they faced a familiar enemy when the Sky People returned to Pandora. Jake leads his family away from the threat, finding refuge with the Metkayina, water Na’vi. But when the Metkayina are targeted to draw Jake out, the Sullys will fight to protect their family and their new home.

Screen Rant participated in a press event celebrating the digital release of Avatar: The Way of Water. Landau explained the extensive research process that went into the film during the press event. He shared how a number of experts helped them create the new Na’vi culture, the Metkayina.

Jon Landau: Paul Frommer, who wrote the Na’vi language, was on the film. He’s also a consultant that we keep on. Really, he works with us every month as we’re doing things. We hired CJ Jones, the deaf actor from Baby Driver, to create the Na’vi sign language. Number one, it’s four digits, not five. And we challenged him to do as much of it as he could with one hand because the Na’vis would use it when they’re riding underwater to communicate with each other. Wade Davis, a published cultural anthropologist, came down and did a whole presentation to a room full of people talking about cultures and how we make cultures believable

The Scripps Institute down in San Diego, the marine facility there, we had a woman who studies whales come talk to us about the language of the Tulkun, because to us Tulkun is a language. There’s a meaning behind it, and they’re communicating something. And Chris Boyes, our sound designer, met with her and talked to her about all of those things.

What Language Experts Added To Avatar: The Way Of Water

Frommer was instrumental to Avatar’s language, having helped create Na’vi speech, and it seems he is just as important to Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar 3, Avatar 4, and Avatar 5. Frommer expanded the language with the Metkayina, who have a very different vocabulary based on where and how they live. However, he isn’t the only key linguist to contribute to the Metkayina. Jones’ creation of the Na’vi sign language further expanded the Metkayina culture in a way that made sense and added to the authenticity to how they live and communicate.

Related: Why Avatar 3’s Story Should Flip The Way of Water’s Plot

The Avatar team consulting with experts about every piece of the world to create and master the details is what makes Pandora and the world of Avatar so real. With linguists, marine life experts, and cultural anthropologists, Avatar: The Way of Water creates a new culture with the Metkayina that feels as diverse and lived in as the Omatikaya of the first Avatar. The linguists in particular help to build out the world in a way that ties everything together through the similarities and differences of each Na’vi culture.

Language, both on Pandora and Earth, is simultaneously universal and yet vastly different. Each culture has its own language to some degree. Even people who speak the same language will find different linguistic ticks based on where they live. Showing this to the Na’vi both in spoken language and sign language with the Metkayina and Omatikaya brings Pandora to life. The Sully family’s struggle to fit in is showcased in the trouble they have communicating, which makes their story universally relatable even though they are alien characters in Avatar: The Way of Water.

Avatar: The Way of Water is available for purchase now on digital.