James Cameron isn’t one of the world’s most renowned directors solely because he has pushed the special effects industry light-years forward and shaped how technology is used throughout cinema with his Avatar trilogy. He creates some of the most iconic films audiences have ever had the pleasure of watching, and when you consider that his filmography includes masterpieces such as Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Aliens, that isn’t an exaggeration. His latest must-see release, Avatar: Fire and Ash, has already become one of the biggest movies of 2025, currently on track to reach $1 billion, and it shows Cameron’s prestige that, rather than this being a career high point, the focus is on whether Fire and Ash can hit $2 billion like Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water.
Given Cameron’s near-legendary status in cinema, it’s understandable that parallels in his work are easily noticeable, as several of his scenes are etched into the memories of countless moviegoers. Yet, never has this been clearer than in the final scene of Fire and Ash, when Spider (Jack Champion) enters the spirit world and is greeted by the ancestors for the first time. The scene mirrors another ending from one of Cameron’s projects on both a cinematic and narrative level, and speaks to how Cameron wants his audiences to always leave the cinema with the best experience possible.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Final Scene Looks Just Like ‘Titanic’s Reunion Between Jack and Rose
Once the battles are over and Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and Varang (Oona Chaplin) are defeated, Jake (Sam Worthington) and the rest of his family connect with Eywa underwater, and Spider, who bonded with Pandora and saw a mycelium network change his physiology, giving him the ability to breathe on Pandora and grow a kuru braid, joins Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) in the spirit world. The moment is incredibly similar to the end of Titanic, when Rose (Kate Winslet) reunites with Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) in the afterlife, as Cameron reuses cinematography techniques to immerse the viewer in the scene.
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“Hey buddy, eyes up here.”
Both scenes begin underwater, with Spider connecting with Eywa in Fire and Ash, and the camera gliding through the ocean to the sunken Titanic in Titanic. This creates a cold color palette of shades of blue that makes the scene feel calm and contemplative, as the viewer has a moment to reflect on the characters’ journeys up until that point, before stepping into the spirit world and the Titanic’s afterlife shifts the palette to brighter and warmer shades of gold and white. Additionally, both scenes are shot from a first-person perspective as Spider and Rose first transcend into their respective worlds. In doing so, the viewer experiences the moment exactly as the character does but also sees the ethereal, otherworldly, and heavenly nature of the realm they are entering.
Both of James Cameron’s Endings Emphasize the Emotional Satisfaction of Homecomings
Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) reunite in ‘Titanic’s final sceneImage via 20th Century Studios
The two scenes in question are easily comparable as they share the same thematic resonance, with both representing emotive reunions for Spider and Rose. Rose reunites with Jack in the time that is her happiest memory. For Spider, his acceptance into the spirit world is incredibly validating for the character, making him a true Na’vi. There is also the comforting sense of a world beyond our own where the souls of our loved ones reside, causing the loss of their corporeal forms to feel less like the end of their life and merely a new beginning on a different plane of existence, waiting for us.
Overall, the scenes reflect how Cameron knows how to reward both the characters and the audience. As Batman (Christian Bale) explains in The Dark Knight, “Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.” The viewers don’t forget the tragedy of Jack or Neteyam’s (Jamie Flatters) deaths, but are comforted by the ultimate promise of a reunion one day. By making these scenes the culmination of Rose and Spider’s arcs, Cameron allows the audience to leave the cinema with a satisfying feeling, believing they earned the right to be happy for these characters who have suffered to reach their place at the film’s conclusion. Some may consider Cameron’s on-set intensity to be off-putting and make him come across as arrogant, but it is in these scenes that we see how Cameron is not a completely cold-hearted special effects nerd, but a lover of storytelling who wants to make audiences feel something every time they watch one of his movies.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is currently playing in theaters.