While talking with Entertainment Weekly, screenwriter Rick Jaffa talked about how, at one point, there were ideas floating around about the Na’vi taking the fight to space rather than waiting for the antagonistic RDA corporation to make their move:
“That idea got a lot of traction, and we talked a lot about it. We were struggling, though. How would that work with the story that we’re telling? Jim said, ‘Well, give me a few weeks.’ He went off and he wrote an entire script. And, by the way, a brilliant script […] At the end of the day, the whole script got thrown out because it just didn’t really work with the story we were telling.”
One of the most alluring aspects of this franchise is not only spending time in these environments, but becoming one with them too. “The Way of Water” not only had to transition audiences from a place they’ve become attached to, but to make sure they fell in love with the Metkayina reefs, and I’d say they succeeded.
Stretching over three hours, the highly anticipated sequel had a massive juggling act on its hands, so finding the time to lay out the rules for Na’vi space travel would have taken away from the crux of the story down on Pandora. In the event you were interested in what an “Avatar” space battle would even look like, however, you don’t have to look too far.