James Cameron's upcoming film in the Avatar film series, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is reported to have a running time of over 3 hours according to listings in Cineplex and AMC. The film, which is scheduled for release on December 19, 2025, is the third instalment in the franchise, which is set after the events of the previous Avatar film, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022).Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña are reprising their roles as Jake and Neytiri, alongside Sigourney Weaver (Kiri), Britain Dalton (Lo'ak), and Jack Champion (Spider). The film will also feature fan favourties such as Stephen Lang (Quaritch) and Kate Winslet (Ronal).New cast members to appear in the upcoming film are Oona Chaplin as Varang, the leader of the fiery "Ash People" Na'vi clan, and David Thewlis as Peylak, leader of the peaceful Wind Traders.James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash to be the longest film in the franchiseDirected by seasoned filmmaker James Cameron, the latest addition into the Avatar franchise is reported to have a running time of 3 hours and 15 minutes. The film series which began in 2009, became one of the highest grossing film franchise's worldwide standing at $5.2 million in box office receipts.Following the first film's debut, the franchise spawned in several other media such as video games, novels, live shows, exhibitons and theme park attractions, among other segments. Made on a budget of $250 million, the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash will feature a Na'vi villain for the first time in franchise's history, which deviates from that of the previous films having human antagonists.The villain, Varang, will be played the HBO's Game of Thrones star Oona Chaplin. Cameron stated that this new antagonist went through several hardships and as a result became ruthless in order to protect its people from any threat. In an interview with the Empire magazine published on 16th January, 2025, the Avatar: Fire and Ash director stated:"Varang is the leader of a people who have gone through an incredible hardship. She's hardened by that. She will do anything for them, even things that we would consider to be evil. One thing we wanted to do in this film is not be black-and-white simplistic. Or blue-and-pink simplistic. … We’re trying to evolve beyond the ‘all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good’ paradigm."Director Cameron had already stated that Avatar: Fire and Ash would have a longer running-time than the previous film. However, he didn't share the exact timing back then during his interview with the Empire magazine. Though he did share how his wife reacted to watching the upcoming film, stating:“My wife watched the whole thing from end to end — she had kept herself away from it and I wasn’t showing her bits and pieces as we went along. This was December 22nd. She bawled for four hours."He further added:“She kept trying to get her s#$% back together so she could tell me specific reactions, and then she’d just tear up and start crying again. Finally, I’m like, ‘Honey, I’ve got to go to bed. Sorry, we’ll talk about it some other time.’”Stay tuned for more updates on Avatar: Fire and Ash.