Warning: This article contains spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water.
Avatar: The Way of Water has brought back a handful of cast members who appeared in the original film back in 2009. Alongside Jake Sully, whose consciousness has been permanently transferred to his Avatar body, the film also marks the return of Neytiri and Colonel Quaritch.
Throughout the events of Avatar: The Way of Water, it was revealed that more “sky people” (aka people from Earth) returned to Pandora after the events of the first film. This time, they have a different goal in mind. But they are not the only ones there as after the Assault on the Tree of Souls, which took place more than a decade ago, not every human was ousted from Pandora.
A few humans were allowed to stay on Pandora
During Jake’s narration at the start of The Way of Water, he revealed that a few humans who were “loyal to the Na’vi” were allowed to stay in Hell’s Gate, the old human colony of Pandora. These people were sympathetic to the Avatar Program and sided with the Na’vi during the RDA’s ambush. Some of these people include Dr. Norm Spellman and Dr. Max Patel, who were both standing next to the Na’vi soldiers at the end of Avatar.
Another person who became a resident of Pandora was Spider, aka Miles Socorro. Spider was the orphaned child of Paz Socorro and Miles Quaritch and was unable to return to Earth due to his young age. While he is loyal to the Na’vi, it was shown in the Avatar: The High Ground comic book series that, Neytiri didn’t approve of Spider’s existence. She didn’t see him as part of her family, as for her he was “one of the people that destroyed her home.” However, Jake and his children, especially Kiri welcomed him with open arms.
The Avatar comic books also introduced other RDA personnel that were allowed to stay on the planet. One of them was McCosker, a former RDA worker who took care of Spider before he found a place in Sully’s family. He was accompanied by his wife who also helped in raising Spider before he made his way into the Pandoran forests.
Even though not many humans were allowed to stay in Pandora, Avatar: The Way of Water sees many desperate to make it their home in order to escape their dying planet. As this film franchise continues to tell its story, it will be interesting to see how many of these new faces would be allowed to call Pandora their home.