Including seeking some instruction from others who write stories for a living. There are common elements in stories that all humans are born to respond to, irrespective of race. James Cameron would have been foolish in the extreme to ignore this.

It *doesn't matter* that Avatar is not an original story. But there's a helluva lot of production around it that *is* new: so, in fact, you *don't* want an original story! Just an original and coherent imaging. Which James Cameron is actually very good at doing. So is J.J. Abrams. So is Ridley Scott. So is Jerry Bruckheimer. So is Steven Spielberg. I could go on...

The "predictable development" was Jake and the Toruk. :-) But it was a plot-element, not a critical development. It could have been written out, albeit with some difficulty, or foreshadowed less predictably, which could have given it greater impact. But crucially, it didn't overshadow more than it should've. It wasn't meant to: it was an action for the benefit of the Na'vi, not the cinema audience. Our attention was on their reactions.

Wade.