Does Jake Sully Die in Avatar 2? Here’s What Happens to Him

WARNING: Major spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water will be included in this article. If you don’t want the movie spoiled, stop reading right now.

Jake Sully is the main character in the Avatar franchise, and he returned in Avatar: The Way of Water after transferring his mind completely into his Na’vi body. He now lives on Pandora with his wife, Neytiri, and the two make a family, but after a lot of turmoil, horrible things happen to the couple in the sequel. So, does Jake Sully die in Avatar 2?

Jake Sully does not die in Avatar: The Way of Water, and we can expect the character to appear in Avatar 3, as well as future sequels in the franchise, should they ever come to fruition. However, a lot of bad things happen to Jake and Neytiri in Avatar 2, mostly revolving around their family.

In the Avatar sequel, we had a lot of characters returning from the first film despite a 13-year hiatus between the two films. We also get introduced to many new characters – some of which didn’t survive to see the end of the movie. If you want to learn more about what happens to Jake Sully in Avatar: The Way of Water, keep reading this article.

Does Jake Sully die in Avatar: The Way of Water?

Let’s get this answered right off the bat: Jake Sully does not die in Avatar: The Way of Water. As the main character, Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully survived to see the end of the movie, and he will likely survive until the very end of the franchise.

Now, we don’t really know where the franchise will end yet. Reports suggest that the producers plan on making five Avatar movies, but seeing how incredibly expensive the films are to make, it will all depend on the box office numbers of each new installment in the franchise.

When James Cameron, the director & creator of Avatar, talked to GQ Magazine before the movie premiered, he stated that the movie was ‘very f*cking expensive’ and that it’ll need to harness about $2 billion, just to break even:

“You have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.” 

He added that the movie is probably ‘the worst business case in movie history’ due to its insane costs, as you’re essentially betting on breaking historical box office records just to make any profit.

Moreover, despite the fact that there are already five Avatar movies planned out, Cameron said that if they realize there’s no profit to be made, they are content at stopping at making the franchise a trilogy.

Therefore, Jake Sully will surely appear in Avatar 3, but whether he’ll appear beyond that will depend on whether movies four and five would be made in the first place.

What happens to Jake Sully in Avatar: The Way of Water?

Now that you know that Jake Sully doesn’t die in Avatar 2, we can explore what actually happens to him in the movie.

Jake already died in the first Avatar movie – well, kind of. He actually completed the transfer of his consciousness into his Avatar body, becoming a member of the Na’vi. He abandoned his broken human body and decided to continue living with Neytiri on Pandora.

Already in the trailers for Avatar: The Way of Water, you could see that Neytiri and Jake Sully made a family together, having multiple children. They have three sons – Neteyam, Lo’ak, and Spider (adopted son), Tuk, their only biological daughter; and one adopted daughter named Kiri.

The family is happy together, and the couple raises their kids the right way, teaching them the crucial morals, skills, and overall way of life of the Na’vi. However, their happiness abruptly comes to an end when the occupations come back. Not only does the RDA return, but so does Colonel Miles Quaritch – the main antagonist of the first Avatar movie.

He was cloned into a Na’vi body, along with his mind and memories, all the way up to his death. In fact, death is the only thing that Quaritch does not remember. Anyways, an altercation between Jake, Neytiri, and Quaritch results in their youngest daughter, Tuk, being kidnapped by the Colonel (along with Lo’ak, and several others. 

Sully and Neytiri seek help from the Metkayina Clan, also known as the Na’vi Reef People. They are a clan living at sea, much like the Omaticaya Clan lives in the jungle.

Fast forward to the culmination of the film, Jake, Neytiri, their children, and friends battle against the RDA and Quaritch, who is holding Tuk hostage. Meanwhile, the mothership on which the fight was happening gets damaged and starts to sink rapidly.

Their oldest son, Neteyam, goes out of his way to save his brother, Lo’ak, and a girl named Tsireya, and ultimately, he even saves Spider – Colonel Quaritch’s biological son and his adopted brother. However, during that sequence, he gets shot in the chest.

Jake and Neytiri get Tuk but stay trapped in the sinking vessel. Luckily, they are saved by Lo’ak and his whale-like friend, Payakan – a creature he had bonded with earlier, but there was no saving Neteyam. He dies right in his parents’ arms on the shore.

As for Quaritch, he is seemingly killed yet again by Jake Sully. However, after Neteyam saved Spider, the boy now saved his biological father, pulling him out of the water. Hence, Quaritch survived yet again, and will likely return in Avatar 3.

So, there you have it. Jake Sully didn’t die in Avatar 2 but potentially suffered an even worse fate. He watched his children getting kidnapped and then had his oldest son die right in his arms.

There’s a whole lot more going on in the movie, but if you want to experience it to the fullest, I suggest watching Avatar: The Way of Water in a theater. The visuals are just stunning, and the theater atmosphere will add so much more to the whole experience.