Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora casts you as a Na’vi, roaming the picturesque and potentially lethal planet of Pandora. But, as a game, is it really part of James Cameron’s Avatar world? If you’re wondering whether Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is canon, here’s the answer.
Is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora Canon?
When it comes to games and movies, it can be difficult to ascertain what’s canon. Take George Lucas’ Star Wars, for example. At the time, Lucasfilm considered the movies canon and anything else part of the “Extended Universe.” So, if there was a conflict between the movies and the EU, the movies were right. And the Star Wars Extended Universe was considered a lower tier than the movies themselves.
When Disney took over Star Wars, it binned the EU, declaring that anything from that point onward was canon. And given that they also own the rights to Avatar, it sounds as if things should be a little simpler as far as Frontiers of Pandora‘s status goes.
Essentially, it is. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is canon, according to its creative director. Speaking to IGN, he said, “The Western Frontier is no less a part of the world of Avatar than what’s in the movies.” The Western Frontier is where the game takes place, and while Cameron hasn’t weighed in yet, that’s 99% confirmation that this new game is canon.
Related: Do You Need to Watch Avatar 1 & 2 Before Playing Frontiers of Pandora?
Where the Game Fits Into the Timeline
With that in mind, your next question might be, just where does the game fit into the Avatar timeline? The game casts you as a Na’vi who is kidnapped as a child by Earth megacorp, the RDA. The original Avatar movie took place during 2154, so your abduction will have happened a little before that.
However, while your character is trained by the RDA, they end up being put into hypersleep and, once free, get to go their own way. That’s where the bulk of the game lies. You wake up in the year 2169, 15 years after the Avatar and a year before the events of Avatar: The Way of Water, the second Avatar movie.
Given that the game takes place in a different area of Pandora, unseen in either film, don’t expect to run into Jake Sully and family. But you will be running into the RDA who, after getting kicked off-planet after Avatar, are back to take over the planet.
So, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is canon, and it takes place in 2169, 15 years after Avatar and a year before Avatar 2: The Way of Water.
