Can the Na’vi breathe underwater in ‘Avatar?’

If we’ve learned anything from the trailers for the long-awaited sequel to Avatar, it’s that this movie is going to feature quite a bit of underwater photography. The trailer that has already been released hinted at this, as does the movie’s title, The Way of Water. In the trailer, we see the N’avi underwater, and given James Cameron’s fascination with the depths of the ocean, and the behind-the-scenes images that have been released, it seems like this movie is going to have a great deal of underwater photography. Given how much of the movie seems to take place in the oceans of Pandora, many people were naturally curious about whether the N’avi, one of the nation’s indigenous species, can breathe underwater.

We don’t have a definitive answer to this question just yet, but based on what we know about the N’avi, it’s possible to weigh the evidence and make an educated guess.

Why the N’avi might be able to breathe underwater

In weighing the evidence in favor of the N’avi being able to breathe underwater, the most convincing evidence comes from the previews we’ve already seen. Those previews seem to suggest that the N’avi can navigate an underwater world with relative ease, and show them interacting with the Ilu, a species native to the waters on Pandora. Some have even speculated that the Ilu are also incapable of breathing underwater, and are more like whales that must occasionally resurface.

Why the N’avi probably can’t breathe underwater

Although the trailer may seem to make a compelling case for the N’avi being able to breathe underwater, it’s more than likely that that’s not something they’re actually capable of. For one thing, they don’t have gills or anything that resembles them, and they would likely need to have some mechanism for actually breathing underwater.

For another, there’s no real indication that they can breathe underwater in the first movie, and if that was something they could do, it seems like that James Cameron would have called it out as quickly as possible. What seems to be a more likely explanation, though, is that the N’avi are bigger and stronger than humans, and therefore have a much greater lung capacity.

What’s more, the N’avi are referred to as “free divers,” which seems to suggest that they are not amphibious. What’s more, because the N’avi seem to be mounting the Ilu, they don’t actually have to do any swimming underwater. That means that the amount of time they can hold their breath is drastically extended because the only energy they’re expending is on the oxygen that they’re converting to ensure that their body continues to function.

Ultimately, we won’t know whether the N’avi can breathe underwater until we see them in action, but most signs seem to suggest that they can’t. James Cameron, who loves filming underwater more than anything in the world, has certainly put his actors through the ringer in filming this movie, but just like the N’avi, every human actor has their limits.