Windtraders - Tumblr Posts

Let's talk about the first look at Avatar 3 (pt 2)

🚨SPOILER WARNING FOR AVATAR 3!🚨

Next up, I want to talk about the next two images I saw from D23: Neytiri riding on her ikran, and the sky ship.

You can read my post discussing Varang and the Ash People here.

In the first image, we see Neytiri flying at night on her banshee, with what appears to be several large flying ships behind her, and in the second image, we have a clearer shot of the "sky ship" in daylight.

The ships are clearly Na'vi-made, since we see the natural weaving pattern and no metal. They have a large sail-like structure on top, and behind Neytiri we see a flying stingray-like creature that appears to be harnessed to the sky ship and pulling it along.

This was really exciting for me to see because I never imagined we'd see the Na'vi creating actual flying vehicles rather than just riding on the backs of flying animals. Most interestingly, even though these sky ships are more complex technology than anything we've seen from the Na'vi before, they appear not to break any of the laws of Eywa. They don't appear to be made of stone or metal, and they don't use wheels. I really like seeing this because I hate that one theory that Eywa intentionally keeps the Na'vi from technologically advancing out of some malevolent goal. Eywa doesn't have any problem with technological advancements, she only prohibits things that would harm the balance of nature, like mining metal and tearing down the forest to build roads for wheeled vehicles.

I believe that these sky ships belong to the Windtrader clan James Cameron has hinted at. These ships look pretty different from anything we've seen from the Ash People, plus Neytiri is flying alongside them like they're allies. It would also make sense based on the name for people called "windtraders" to fly through the sky using the wind and also have large ships capable of carrying material to trade with other clans. I can't wait to see what a windtrader Na'vi looks like and if they have unique adaptations to set them apart from other clans! Perhaps they would be smaller in order to be lighter on the ships and have bigger lungs to process oxygen at such high altitudes.

Now to talk about the sky ship itself, it appears to have three main components: the cabin, the steed, and the sail. The cabin is the woven part of it that is the actual ship where the Na'vi would ride and store their goods. The steed is that stingray looking creature behind Neytiri that looks like it's harnessed to the cabin and pulling it through the air. I would really like an in-universe explanation for how in that giant stingray thing is flying. It looks HUGE, maybe a little over half as long as tulkun. I know Pandora has lower gravity and a thicker atmosphere, so the physics are different, but come on that things has to weigh a hundred tons! They better have a sci-fi explanation for how that big thing flies. And if you look closely, there seems to be a na'vi riding on it's back, implying it has kurus to plug into up there. From what I can see of its back, it looks blue with white spots, kind of like a whale shark.

The last part of the ship is the large sail-like structure that appears to be keeping the whole contraption buoyant. I saw folks on the r/Avatar subreddit speculating about what it is, and I believe they had the right idea when they guessed it was a Medusa.

The medusa is a giant, flying jellyfish-like creature that James Cameron dreamed up many years ago. Here are some old concept arts for it, and as you can see, they look quite different. Cameron never settled on a final design for this creature, just that it was a flying carnivorous jellyfish. He wanted to include it in the Avatar universe, but never had the chance to. He recently said in an interview a few months ago that Avatar 3 would finally include his alien creation, but he didn't say how. Since the Na'vi would lack the ability to create hot air balloons or zeppelins like humans, I believe the windtraders are using a creature from their environment to lift their ships, and that creature is the medusa, given a final design by James Cameron and his creative team. The sails are a pale purplish membrane like in the concept art, and if you look directly behind Neytiri's head, there seem to be tentacles hanging down from the ship, implying it is a medusa.

So it seems to me like the windtraders weave their boats out of the same material that maruis (Na'vi homes) are made from, then they attach it to a medusa to lift it into the air, and then they harness it to a flyinf stingray to pulls the boat where they want to go. The windtraders must be super smart to come up with all this! I cannot wait to see it in action!

And the way Neytiri is flying with them gives me the vibe that she and Jake have been reaching out to other clans to join the fight against the RDA and the windtraders agreed to team up with them and now they're flying off on a mission together!

What do you guys think of all this? Did I miss anything?

I wonder if the airships are the work of Ash's na'vi or the good guys. Can't wait for that!

I believe the airships belong to the Windtraders! James Cameron has hinted that we will not just be introduced to the Ash Clan, but also another Na'vi group called the Windtraders. We know literally nothing about them except for that they presumably like wind and trading things. I think giant floating sky ships with plenty of storage space for trading goods must belong to the Windtraders!

Ooh Kukulope is very pretty! It looks like her skirt is made with fur, so maybe the Windtraders get skins from animals that live in cold areas where they would need fur! I can see why people think she might be a Windtrader.

But part of me also hopes she isn't. Kukulope appears to be have all the same traits as other forest Na'vi. I was really hoping we'd get to see more biodiversity, and the windtraders would have more distinct physical characteristics to help them survive at high altitude or in a desert homeland!

I wonder if the airships are the work of Ash's na'vi or the good guys. Can't wait for that!

I believe the airships belong to the Windtraders! James Cameron has hinted that we will not just be introduced to the Ash Clan, but also another Na'vi group called the Windtraders. We know literally nothing about them except for that they presumably like wind and trading things. I think giant floating sky ships with plenty of storage space for trading goods must belong to the Windtraders!

Sketched out a diagram of the Windtrader Sky Ship

I can't wait to see what they look like in action!