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How tall are the Na’vi in ‘Avatar?’

Those proportions must have given the CGI people a few painful headaches.

avatar the way of water
Image via 20th Century Studios

Thirteen years after the release of the first Avatar film, fans of the world of Pandora were finally rewarded with a sequel to the James Cameron box-office smasher. The film was almost as big of a commercial success as its predecessor but managed to deliver an even greater visual spectacle.

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Avatar: The Way of Water takes the Sullys to new heights, and new depths, by exploring a whole new Na’vi clan called the Metkayina, an oceanic people living in Pandora’s reefs on the Eastern Sea. Sixteen years after the events of the first film, Jake and Neytiri have grown their family, welcoming three children together, Neteyam, Lo’ak, and Tuktirey. Also joining their little unit are human Spider and Avatar-Na’vi hybrid Kiri – whose biological parents are revealed eventually in the film. When the RDA (Resources Development Administration) comes back to try to take over Pandora again, the Sullys are forced to relocate.

How tall are the Avatars and the Na’vi in Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water?

The Na’vi are the indigenous people of Pandora – a habitable moon. As adults, they can be as tall as 13′ but their average height is 10′ or three meters tall, with males being slightly taller than females. They’re about as tall as a U-Haul truck or a basketball hoop.

According to the tie-in book for the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water: The Visual Dictionary, Neytiri is 8′ 7” tall (two meters, 62 centimeters), while Jake is only four inches taller than her. Their oldest son, 15-year-old Neteyam is 8’2” (two meters, 62 centimeters), both Kiri and Lo’ak, who are 14, are 7′ 7” (two meters, 32 centimeters), and the baby of the family, 7-year-old Tuk, is 5′ 7” (one meter, 7 centimeters).

Despite having human-like features and body proportions, the Omatikayan Na’vi display slender, sculptured bodies, as well as striped blue skin, pointed ears, and a tail. The Metkayina clan, on the other hand, have evolved to better navigate the ocean, developing bigger eyes, wider and flatter tales, and fin-like membranes in their limbs.

How tall is Spider in comparison to the Na’vi and the Avatars?

na'vi avatar the way of water
Screengrab via YouTube/20th Century Studios

Miles “Spider” Socorro is the adopted human teenage son of Jake Sully and Neytiri, and his scenes with his Na’vi parents and siblings in the film have really put into perspective just how tall the Na’vi actually are. The Visual Dictionary lists Miles as being 6′ (1.83 meters) at 16 years old. While that is a relatively big number for a teen, that was the exact height of the actor who plays Miles, Jack Champion, at the time of filming. Miles is three inches taller than Tuk but 1′ 7” shorter than Kiri and Lo’ak, and therefore much shorter than adult Na’vi.

Avatar: The Way of Water is available to stream now on Disney Plus.