Avatar: Fire and Ash was a box office smash hit when it dropped in December 2025, and it’s easy to see why. Compelling characters, breathtaking action, beautiful environments, and an array of wondrous alien creatures.
We’ve explored the strange creatures of the Avatar universe before, but now that the third movie has finally hit Disney+, we’re taking another look at three more awe-inspiring alien creatures from these movies, including some new stunners introduced in Fire & Ash.
If you’re more of an RDA fan (or at least admire the humans’ technology), we also took a good look at Avatar’s most iconic spaceships and vehicles. James Cameron rarely misses when it comes to gorgeous sci-fi designs — man-made or natural — and eagle-eyed veterans might even spot an explicit reference (which we won’t spoil here) to Aliens in Fire and Ash.
It might be a while before we get more updates on Avatar 4 and 5’s status, so if you’re itching to explore Pandora more after watching Fire and Ash on Disney+, then you should also check out the video game, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Ubisoft’s open-world game is a memorable – and surprisingly brutal at times – experience, but it also lets fans explore the world, see the creatures, and dive deeper into the lore.
Now, let’s mask up and prepare to drop into the wilderness of Pandora as we look at three of the Avatar series’ coolest (and weirdest) alien creatures.
Akula
First seen in Avatar: The Way of Water, the akula is a carnivorous fish that essentially acts as the great white shark of Pandora’s oceans, though it’ll remind paleofanatics of Earth’s armored Dunkleosteus. Its most shocking feature — and one perfectly showcased when it tries to eat Lo’ak in the second movie — is a three-part jaw that opens up in a big triangular shape.
Like most creatures in the Pandoran seas, the akula is important to the Metkayina’s culture. Those Na’vi choose to model their traditional knives after the teeth of the fearsome creature, and some members of the tribe even wear the akula’s actual teeth with necklaces. It’s terrifying to them, too, and thus deserves respect.
The lead creature designer on the Avatar sequels, Zachary Berger, revealed the process behind the akula’s creation, stating the basis for the final design was born from a sketch Wētā Workshop had done a long time ago. Unsurprisingly, it seems the mouth “reveal” was the final touch the otherwise familiar design needed to fully come together.
Nightwraith (ska’avum)
Another scary aerial predator introduced in the sequels is the nightwraith, which the Na’vi call ska’avum.
First seen in Fire and Ash as the ride of choice of villain Varang, it’s a four-winged monster with folding vanes that give it a distinct shape against the sky. It’s also slightly larger in size than the more common ikran, as seen during Varang and Neytiri’s ferocious clashes. Moreover, its “bony crests” give it an additional edge when it comes to attack and defense.
As far as we know, Varang is the only Na’vi to ride a nightwraith. This is a good fit considering the character’s fiery nature, but it wasn’t always the plan, as her aerial partner wasn’t defined in the script and was developed into an all-new creature after shooting had wrapped. Word is that Varang was originally meant to ride an armored ikran instead.
Southern squidray (tsyong)
Fire and Ash also added Pandora’s own giant squids to the already crowded bestiary, and those things are gnarly… even outside the water. When Eywa goes to war (again) during that third act, things get scary very fast if you’re on the human invaders’ side. Enter the four-eyed southern squidray, called tsyong by the Na’vi.
With razor-toothed tentacles and an oversized beak that opens up horizontally and can bite through most natural materials, these deep-sea hunters can feed on almost any other animal in the sea due to their impressive speed and strength in numbers.
Even the agile ilu have a hard time escaping them, so you can quickly understand why the Na’vi treat them as “dark spirits” sent by Eywa to judge. By the end of the third Avatar movie, the RDA is the one being judged (harshly) by the nightmare-inducing cephalopods.
