Director James Cameron and Oona Chaplin on the set of 20th Century Studios' Avatar: Fire and Ash. Photo by Mark Fellman Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Sixteen years after James Cameron first stunned Hollywood with the power of performance-capture technology with 2009's Avatar, the Oscar-winning director is primed to make history again with the third chapter in his groundbreaking franchise - Avatar: Fire and Ash, opening December 19. But industry insiders and fans won't have to wait until then for a front-row seat to never-before-heard secrets of Pandora: Starting December 10, The Hollywood Reporter's "Behind the Screen" podcast - which showcases exclusive interviews with the artisans behind cinema's most breathtaking stories - will feature a special five-episode audio and video series, spotlighting the talented artisans behind Avatar: Fire and Ash. Related Stories Movies 'Beam Me Up, Sulu' ''Star Trek' Doc Featuring George Takei Gets February Release (Exclusive) Movies 'Navalny' Director's 'The AI Doc' Lands 2026 Release From Focus Features (Exclusive) The series, hosted by THR Contributing Editor Stacey Wilson Hunt, premieres with a deep-dive into the film's epic score with composer Simon Franglen, who took over from Avatar's original composer, the late James Horner who passed away in 2015. On December 17, production designers Dylan Cole and Ben Procter reveal exclusive details about Fire and Ash's newest and most stunning set pieces and characters. On December 22, the series will feature a rousing chat with senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri, visual effects supervisor Richard Baneham, Wētā FX senior visual effects supervisor Eric Saindon and Wētā FX senior animation supervisor Daniel Barrett. They take listeners inside the evolution of Avatar's landmark performance-capture technology (which uses actors' movements and facial expressions to create hyper-realistic digital characters) and reveal just exactly how they make the Na'vi and their world feel so life-like. (Hint: It has nothing to do with AI and everything to do with human motion.) On December 30, editors Stephen Rivkin and Jason Gaudio share their secrets to assembling the storytelling elements of Avatar, and the series culminates on January 7 with a colorful chat highlighting costume designer Deborah L. Scott and the surprisingly handmade process she employed to create the clothing for Avatar's characters. The series also takes listeners on a ride through the Avatar legacy, which stretches back 30 years to the mid-1990's when Cameron first penned his screenplay about paraplegic marine (Sam Worthington) who, after filling in for his deceased twin brother in a secret mission to colonize a moon called Pandora, falls in love with an indigenous Na'vi woman (Zoe Saldana). Avatar premiered in 2009 and became the highest-grossing film in history, earning more than $2.92 billion at the global box office. Its sequels, 2022's The Way of Water and Fire and Ash, were shot back-to-back in 2017. The franchise has netted a total of 13 Oscar nominations and four wins thus far, including for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction/Production Design, Best Visual Effects (Avatar) and Best Visual Effects (The Way of Water). And Fire and Ash is clearly on its way to Oscar contention, too: The film has been named one of AFI's Top 10 motion pictures of the year; a Top 10 film of 2025 by the National Board of Review; and has netted both Critics Choice and Golden Globe nominations, including for Visual Effects and Original Song. This special edition of Behind the Screen is available below and wherever podcasts are streamed. Episode 1: Score In the premiere episode of this special Behind the Screen podcast series celebrating the crafts of Avatar: Fire and Ash, Grammy-winning composer Simon Franglen reveals what he learned from late composer James Horner, defining the culture of the world of Pandora through music, inventing and 3D printing new instruments, and how James Cameron's passion for music has made Franglen's work uniquely streamlined. "I have two people to please: myself first, then Jim," he says. "Jim has an incredibly good sense of what music should be. [There are times] when I've had to rewrite things again and again; then, I'll give him something and he goes, 'Yes! That that's the sound of the Ash people!'' Episode 2: Production Design Premieres December 17 Episode 3: Visual Effects Premieres December 23 Episode 4: Editing Premieres December 30 Episode 5: Costume Premieres January 7 THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Star Trek 'Beam Me Up, Sulu' 'Star Trek' Doc Featuring George Takei Gets February Release (Exclusive) marketing Is Kevin James Doing a Stealth Marketing Campaign for His New Film? Navalny 'Na