It showed up out of nowhere, made the most bank in history (for a movie), refused to explain and disappeared for like 15 years, then came back out of nowhere with a sequel movie, a AAA game, and like 3 more movies in the works.
Edit: I think it now has like a Lego line too?
It’s original in the sense that it all started with the movie. There wasn’t any Avatar novels, comic books, toys or video games before the movie.
The story is quite derivative though.
All stories are derivative.
Avatar would be considered a “Conquering the monster” archetype. The monster being the evil corporation in this case.
Hero’s journey shows up in every culture around the planet.
I’m not familiar with many tales that include a myco-connected planetary intelligence (celestial goddess, of you wanna phrase it like that).
Manifestation of a Global Inelegance via Fungal Connections
…is all I wanted to hear about in the sequel.
Avatar? Created highest hopes of conversation & art gravitating towards exploration & celebration of our own planet’s “wood wide web”. And demolishing toxic effects of corporations on the planet & people.
Avatar Way of Water? Top disappointment in my film watching experiences. My own fault, of course, the expectations I created for mystic becoming better manifest in stories on screen.