Set in 2154, Avatar tells the story of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) , an ex-marine paraplegic who is sent to Pandora, an earth-sized moon which is inhabited by the Na’vi, to partake in the Avatar program in place of his murdered twin brother, Tom. Humans are sent by the RDA to Pandora to try to negotiate the Na’vi (specifically the Omaticaya clan) out of their homes, which rests on one of the largest Unobtanium deposits ever, a rich mineral which can save planet Earth, which is almost barren of wildlife. However, the Na’vi, a race of blue-skinned humanoids who dominate Pandora, are known for their strength and their remarkable defence against their home, using guerrilla warfare tactics against military forces led by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang).

Since the atmosphere of Pandora is poisonous to humans, the RDA initiates the Avatar program, headed by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). This program creates human-Na’vi hybrids which are genetically engineered, controlled by humans in cryosleep. We are introduced to Jake’s avatar, Grace’s and also Norm Spellman (John David Moore)’s, who is an anthropologist and was a close friend of Tom’s. On their first adventure out into Pandoran wildlife, Jake gets separated from Grace and Norm when a Thanator, a panther-like creature, attacks Jake and he flees into a river. Jake is left alone into the night, where he has another encounter with Pandoran wildlife, this time with Viperwolfs. Before they can attack with full force, a young Na’vi woman named Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña) rescues Jake, then leaves when Jake tries to thank her. Jake follows her, and Neytiri has a change of heart towards him when she sees the seeds of Eywa, the Na’vi’s deity who resides in the Na’vi’s Tree of Souls, floating towards Jake, which shows her he has a pure spirit. She then takes him to the Omaticaya hometree where Jake meets Eytukan (Wes Studi) and Mo’at (C. C. H. Pounder), the king and queen of the Omaticaya clan and also Neytiri’s parents. The royals decide that because Jake presents himself as a warrior, he is allowed to be taught the ways of the Na’vi race, and they put Neytiri in charge of teaching him, much to the dismay of Tsu’Tey, next in line to the Omaticaya throne. Only after Jake proves he has the will to learn and the courage of their species will the Na’vi consider Jake one of their people.

Throughout his education of the Na’vi culture and way of life, he realizes that the Na’vi are closely in tune with the nature of Pandora, each species being connected to each other to create a complex ecosystem. He also realizes that he is the main source of information between the RDA and the Na’vi, and it’s up to him to either decide to let the humans infiltrate the Na’vi habitat or to help protect their precious homeland.

Avatar is directed and written by James Cameron, produced by James Cameron and Jon Landeau under Lightstorm Entertainment, distributed by 20^th Century Fox. At the time of writing, it has earned $1,025,378,961 USD worldwide since its release on December 18^th, 2009. It has earned the title of the fourth highest-earning movie ever and was the second top-grossing film of 2009 in North America, overseas and the top-grossing film worldwide. It encompasses groundbreaking 3D technology, motion capture animation and it is the current most expensive movie ever made, with a budget of $230,000,000 USD.