Avatar: Fire And Ash: Meet David Thewlis’ Stylish Sky Captain, Peylak

No experience on Pandora looks as joyous as taking to those colourful skies. No wonder Avatar and The Way Of Water often found Jake Sully and his Na’vi pals hopping on their ikrans to soar over all those lush jungles and oceans. (See, too, incredible skybound theme park ride ‘Avatar: Flight Of Passage’.) But in the upcoming Avatar: Fire And Ash, prepare for an all-new kind of aerial travel, the sort that would make for a perfect Pandoran vacation. The Wind Traders, or Tlalim Clan, are a new group of Na’vi who traverse the lush moon on gigantic jellyfish-like creatures – and chief among them, quite literally, is Peylak, played by none other than David Thewlis.

Yes, contrary to rumour, Thewlis is not playing a foe from the Mangkwan ‘Ash’ Clan, but a cool, colourful chieftan with one hell of a dress sense.

“They’re upbeat, happy, colourful,” Avatar: Fire And Ash’s costume designer Deborah L. Scott tells Empire of Peylak’s people. “And when they come into our movie, everyone’s excited to see them. It’s like the circus is in town.” Peylak’s garb is gloriously opulent, not least his sunset-coloured cloak. “Originally the cloak was a little more rugged, a little more rustic,” Scott says. “But as all the clans developed, Jim [Cameron] said, ‘I just don’t think it’s grand enough.’ So I went back and reinvented it.” Thewlis, meanwhile, brings his own unique swagger to the character. “The way he carries himself, he’s got great posture,” Scott enthuses. “He’s absolutely stunning in the movie.” Up, up and away.

Read much more about Avatar: Fire And Ash in Empire’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning issue, on sale Thursday 13 February. Order a copy online here. The Path To Pandora continues every month in Empire – subscribe here to get the magazine every month and hear the latest Na’vi news. Avatar: Fire And Ash comes to UK cinemas from 19 December.