It’s no secret that the DC cinematic universe hasn’t exactly gone to plan. Over the last decade or so, DC has attempted to build its own MCU, but it’s failed to stick the landing at almost every single turn. The Snyderverse, despite its sect of vocal fans, failed to create the groundwork for the DC universe as higher-ups had hoped. Though there have been some hits along the way, the DC cinematic universe never managed to bring all its wonky pieces together, so much so thatJames Gunn and Peter Safran are rebooting the DC universefrom scratch. And if James Gunn really plans to create a cohesive DC universe across all mediums, then he may want to look toward the upcomingAvatar: Frontiers of Pandorafor a blueprint.
Announced all the way back in 2017, whenAvatar: The Way of Waterhad just entered production,Avatar: Frontiers of Pandorais an upcoming open-world adventure game being developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. Despite being announced almost six years ago, fans still only have one cinematic trailer to go on, and it barely reveals anything about the game. But that being said, ifAvatar: Frontiers of Pandoraends up fulfilling its potential, then it leads the perfect example for James Gunn’s new DC universe.
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Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Could Pave the Way for James Gunn’s DC Universe
Though not much is known aboutAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora, it has been confirmed by Walt Disney Games' Senior Vice President that the game will be completely canon to the mainlineAvataruniverse. Not only will the game be canon, butAvatar’s own producer, Jon Landau, is said to be working directly alongside Massive Entertainment on the project to ensure that it captures the same essence asJames Cameron’s movies, and fits right alongside the current canon timeline.
This means thatAvatar: Frontiers of Pandorahas the potential to really flesh outtheAvataruniverse’s lorein a natural and engaging way. Players are likely to find out more about other Na’vi tribes, in particular the game’s central group of Na’vi that are tasked with guarding Pandora’s Western Front. And with the RDA likely being the main antagonists of the game, fans are sure to find out more about their various technological capabilities and their motivations. Even if all of this extra lore information is only given in collectibles strewn across the map,Avatar: Frontiers of Pandorawill likely give fans the deep dive into the universe they’ve been desperate for, and it’ll all be completely canonical.
WithAvatar: Frontiers of Pandoraalso allegedly being set around the same time asAvatar: The Way of Water,some references to the movies are almost guaranteed to happen. According to Disney, there will be some definitive crossovers betweenAvatar: Frontiers of Pandoraand the current movie series, with major events in one carrying over to the other. So while fans may not see major players like Jake, Neytiri, or the rest of their little Sully clan inAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora, there are sure to be some big easter eggs and references to the events fans are seeing on the silver screen.
IfAvatar: Frontiers of Pandoracan live up to its full potential, then it could act as the perfect blueprint for James Gunn’s DC universe. When the new DC slate was first announced a few months back, Gunn made it clear that this new DC universe would share its canon across all mediums, meaning that any TV shows, movies, and most importantly, video games would all follow the same continuity. If the new Superman appeared in a movie, that same version could also crop up in a TV series or game, played by the same actor. With a greater focus on shared continuity, it makes sense for DC to follow inAvatar: Frontiers of Pandora’s footsteps, creating games that flesh out the universe surrounding each major cinematic outing, and provide more context on somelesser-known DC characters.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandorais in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
