In James Cameron’s Avatar, the fictional moon is named Pandora, echoing the myth of Pandora’s box.
Avatar is set in the 22nd century on Pandora, a habitable moon orbiting the gas giant Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri star system. The moon is home to the Na’vi, a sapient species whose environment and culture are threatened by human extraction of valuable resources.
The name recalls the Greek myth, but Cameron’s Pandora is not the mythological woman or her container. It is a fully imagined extraterrestrial setting with its own ecology, languages, societies, and spiritual traditions. The film uses the name as an evocative reference rather than as a direct adaptation.
Pandora’s bioluminescent forests, floating mountains, and interconnected wildlife became central visual features of the film. The moon is also the main setting for later Avatar stories, including The Way of Water.