The Killer Whales Have Struck Again, Avatar 2 Is Real
Killer whales struck another boat off the coast of Spain, bringing Avatar 2's subplot to life.
After recent reports of animal attacks on sailing vessels off the coast of Spain, some Twitter users are comparing the killer whale strikes to those seen in the recent James Cameron film Avatar: The Way of Water. According to a recent write-up in Reuters, these orcas have assaulted dozens of ships, sinking some in the process, by hurling themselves head-first into the rudders with reckless abandon. With these attacks likely coming as a form of revenge for unlawful hunting and fishing practices harming the whale population, many users on the internet have likened the aquatic creatures to the Tulkun marine species seen in Avatar 2.
Both installments in James Cameron‘s Avatar film series maintain a heavy thematic focus on the impact of man-made climate change as well as deforestation and overhunting of animals. The second installment, last year’s Avatar: The Way of Water, shifted the focus from the lush forests of Pandora to the vast depths of the planet’s oceans, displaying enormous whale-like creatures which have their own distinct intelligence and culture. With killer whale attacks taking up so much real estate in the news feed this past week, fans can’t help but liken the real-world story to that of the one told in Avatar 2.
Despite the obvious comparisons to killer whales, the Tulkun creatures of Avatar 2 are clearly based more on the anatomy of blue whales, with their massive size marking them as the largest creatures we’ve seen in the franchise thus far. The creatures are so important to the story and lore of the Avatar universe that the fourth film is rumored to be titled Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, likely bringing the creatures back to the forefront of the series after the third installment’s alleged focus on a clan of volcano-dwelling Na’Vi known as the Ash people. Ironically, in trying to produce a film whose reactionary themes exist to encourage humanity to respect animals and live in harmony with the Earth’s creatures, James Cameron may have crafted a piece of predictive programming, with real-world orcas seeming to lash out at humanity for its inability to coexist.
The first killer whale attack in this series dates back to the year 2020, years before Avatar: The Way of Water had even been previewed, and came about as a result of a female orca researchers have named White Gladis, who lashed out after experiencing severe trauma. Since then, the highly intelligent species of marine mammals have taken these attacks as a learned behavior, spreading horizontally across pods of White Gladis’ peers and vertically amongst young orcas who seem to find the dangerous practice to be a right of passage. The practice, which sees killer whales gliding through the waves at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour, can be mutually dangerous, with many whales suffering head trauma after these assaults on seafaring vessels.
Whether these killer whales are attacking simply to live up to their terrifying name, lashing out in response to an underwater showing of Avatar 2, or a reaction to humans encroaching on their environment, one thing is certain: human beings need to learn to respect the creatures with whom we share the Earth.
