Pandora is the moon in Avatar that is home to the Na’vi. James Cameron’s 2009 science-fiction film presents Pandora as a habitable moon orbiting the fictional gas giant Polyphemus.
The film’s human expedition seeks unobtanium, a valuable mineral found on Pandora. The Na’vi are the moon’s tall blue humanoid inhabitants, and the story centers on the conflict between their society and the mining operation. Pandora’s dense forests, floating mountains, and interconnected ecosystems are central parts of the film’s world-building.
This fictional Pandora is unrelated to the ancient Greek container except for the shared name. Cameron’s setting uses the name as a thematic reference to a world containing extraordinary beauty and danger. It is also unrelated to Saturn’s real moon Pandora, which is much smaller and has no known life.
The film’s success made Pandora one of the most recognizable fictional worlds in modern cinema. Its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, expands the setting to other environments on the same moon.