The world of Pandora, as director James Cameron brought it to life in the Avatar franchise, presents audiences with a lush, beautiful planet. The vast oceans and expansive forests utilize the photo-real effects developed in conjunction with the franchise, with stunning visuals that immerse audiences in the fantastical alien world. Avatar: Fire and Ash continues to explore new areas of Pandora, with the bleak volcanic lands making their debut in the latest installment.
Some viewers have even reported feeling depressed after watching the Avatar movies because of a deep longing for Pandora. The feeling some fans experience has been referred to as the “Avatar Blues” and “Post-Avatar Depression” (PADS), which comes from the immersive nature and beauty of Pandora, leaving many wanting more. Luckily for sci-fi audiences and those looking for unique new alien worlds to explore, there are plenty of movies to fill the void left by the recent return to Pandora in Avatar: Fire and Ash.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (2017): Ego
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 features a distinct planet unlike any other. Ego, Star-Lord’s father, is presented as a powerful celestial being, but he is also a planet on which much of the film takes place. Like Avatar’s Pandora, Ego features beautiful vistas and lush environments, and, as with the RDA and the Na’vi, an evil presence emerges from the stunning visuals.
Those who want another planet that can offer the splendor of Pandora will find that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 crafts a distinct world to explore. Thanks to James Gunn’s creative storytelling and colorful visual flair in the Guardians films, the sequel embraces Ego the Living Planet from Marvel Comics, turning what could have felt ridiculous into an emotionally impactful sci-fi world.
‘Predator: Badlands’ (2025): Genna
Predator: Badlands impressed audiences with its Yuatja protagonist and a clever story set on the planet Genna. The franchise entry quickly dubs Genna the “Death Plant,” noting that everything there is potentially lethal. Badlands follows Dek as he treks the planet, running into various deadly creatures, with even the vines from trees attempting to kill him.
While Genna is a deadlier planet to traverse than Pandora, it features a wide array of environments, with forests, plains, and mountain ranges that Dek travels across, some with grim, rocky exteriors and others with vibrant greenery. Audiences may not wish to live on Genna when Predator: Badlands ends, but the planet’s diverse destinations make it a worthy world to visit.
‘Transformers One’ (2024): Cybertron
Several of the live-action Transformers movies have shown audiences glimpses of Cybertron, the home planet of the titular robots in disguise. Bumblebee‘s opening scene expertly brought fans there in vivid detail, but the planet is best explored in Transformers One. The animated Transformers film takes place entirely on Cybertron, highlighting the vast cityscapes, with buildings rising from the ground and hanging from the sky. The movie even features the sparse environments beyond the technologically advanced cities, showing the planet’s undeveloped areas.
Where Avatar’s Pandora sees technology in the world as a potential blight, Transformers One builds an impressive, thriving world that finds beauty in its mechanical appearance. Cybertron is a distinctly different planet to visit, but thanks to the stellar origin story on display, Transformers One offers a uniquely different option than Pandora.
‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace’ (1999): Naboo
The Star Wars universe has no shortage of impressive planets to visit that could fill the void left by Avatar: Fire and Ash. Coruscant presents a vast cityscape of impressive sci-fi architecture, with planets like the Wookie home world of Kashyyyk offering forested environments. Yet, one of the most beautiful locations seen throughout the Star Wars franchise is Naboo.
Naboo is a critical location throughout the prequel trilogy, with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace giving audiences their best opportunity to explore the planet. The Phantom Menace features sweeping plains where battles rage, the underwater Gungan city, and the distinct buildings throughout the city of Theed. Naboo is the type of gorgeous planet that can rival the beauty of Avatar’s Pandora.
‘Fantastic Planet’ (1973): Ygam
Fantastic Planet won’t be for everyone, but the surreal animated film takes viewers on a visual journey unlike any other to the planet of Ygam. Much like Pandora, Fantastic Planet stars giant blue aliens, though the story is vastly different, as they enslave a race of tiny humans called Oms. The tale bears thematic similarities to Avatar, with an Om character escaping and joining a resistance to fight back against their oppressors, akin to the Na’vi and RDA struggle.
Fantastic Planet‘s animation is stark and often unsettling as it explores a unique animated world. The cult-classic sci-fi feature is also widely regarded as being heavily influential on the Avatar films, making it the perfect planet for fans of the franchise to visit in search of worlds like Pandora.
‘Dune’ (2021) & ‘Dune: Part Two’ (2024): Arrakis
Dune and Dune: Part Two are almost the antithesis of Pandora’s lush jungle environments. The sci-fi epic takes audiences to the desert planet of Arrakis, where distinct architecture is set amid the rolling dunes. While there is a similar story of a resistance movement against corporate interests like Avatar, Dune will be for those looking for something starkly different.
Avatar: Fire and Ash takes fans to the new volcanic lands inhabited by the villainous Ash People, which is more in line with what viewers can expect to find while watching Dune. With Avatar expanding the biomes on Pandora, Arrakis is a great planet to visit for those looking for the bleaker environments seen in Cameron’s latest outing.
‘The Chronicles of Riddick’ (2004): Helion Prime
The Chronicles of Riddick features the planet Helion Prime, with the thriving city of New Mecca at its heart. The titular Riddick spends plenty of time in the gorgeous city, which offers a visual dichotomy, as it was thriving before being taken over by the Necromongers, the movie’s villains. The planet also features more barren areas, shown throughout, with the location offering a vast, thriving city that juts out to provide cultural definition.
Helion Prime doesn’t have the forests of Pandora for audiences to explore, but it does present a unique world whose beauty has been sapped by evil intent, much like the RDA is doing to the planet in Avatar. The Chronicles of Riddick is an excellent example of how corruption can ruin once-thriving environments, and, in that regard, fans of Pandora can find thematic connections and distinct sci-fi elements to appreciate.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017): Sakaar
The Thor films have offered fans a gorgeous, shimmering world to explore thanks to Asgard. However, one of the franchise’s most distinct planets comes from Thor: Ragnarok‘s Sakaar. The MCU entry features a world besieged by garbage, with a city rising to thrive out of it. Sakaar displays a noticeable split between the bleak, garbage-filled areas and the colorful city.
Where Pandora features lush, colorful jungles, Sakaar takes the Na’vi’s city skyline nightmare and peps it up with a dash of color, making it feel more alive in its own way. Ragnarok highlights a uniquely vibrant sci-fi world that can satiate Avatar fans with a bold planet to visit. While it may not have a forest in sight, the alien planet embraces a visual flair that audiences can similarly appreciate.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
