Are you wondering what’s up with the anti-aging juice in Avatar: The Way of Water? So what exactly is this anti-aging juice, and where does it come from? The anti-aging juice comes from the Tulkun, whale-like creatures inhabiting Pandora. They are brilliant, rivaling the intelligence of both Na’vi and humans, and have their own culture. The Resources Development Administration (RDA) hunts them due to a liquid in the Tulkun’s brain that prevents human aging. So why did James Cameron include this in Avatar: The Way of Water, and how did it impact the story? Here is everything you need to know about the anti-aging juice in Avatar: The Way of Water.
Avatar: The Way of Water: What’s Up With the Anti-Aging Juice?
The anti-aging juice, called Amrita, is included in the movie to justify the actions of the film’s characters and sets up the movie for an important scene near the movie’s end. Plus, it is another way to prove how awful humans are. Amrita is found in the brain of the Tulkun, and the only way to get it is to extract it horrifically.
The name Amrita comes from multiple mythologies and religious rituals across the world. It is commonly used to give immortality or represent the freedom of mortal concepts of life, like birth and death. So it is only appropriate that this is what Cameron calls it in his movie.
During the film, Quaritch commandeers a ship to search for Jake Sully and his family in the group of islands they are hiding. When none of the Na’vi gives him up, he starts hunting the most sacred species of the Metkayina clan, the Tulkun, in an attempt to pull them out of hiding. Lucky for Quaritch, the ship he commanded earlier is a whaling ship with everything needed to hunt Tulkuns. How convenient…
We are then shown a scene some viewers say is traumatizing and unnecessary, where the humans stalk, hunt, and kill a Tulkun. The hunt scene sets up the movie for the last battle scene, where all the whaling equipment and weapons are used when battling the Na’vi. After the Tulkun is killed, we see them extract Amrita, which sells for millions of dollars back on Earth due to its ability to stop human aging.
Avatar: The Way of Water is now avaiable to watch exclusively in theaters.
