Remember Avatar? The movie that graced the big screen with its stunning visuals and immersive experience all the way back in 2009?
Well, 13 years and many, many delays later, Avatar 2 is finally going to hit the cinemas this December.
And the trailer is already nothing short of spectacular.
Sully Family is Back
The trailer of the long-awaited sequel opens on the familiar floating mountains of Pandora, following the Na’vi as they travel around the planet’s azure blue seas and navigate its lush jungles.
Riding on great-winged banshees and enormous aquatic creatures, the Na’vi appear like they are protecting their home from an impending danger — something we are not shown.
The Sully family is also ready for battle as Jake tells Neytiri, “I know one thing. Wherever we go, this family is our fortress.”
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, it appears that Jake and Neytiri now have three children and an adopted human child. But we’ll have to wait for the film before we get more details on that.
Recapping Events of Avatar
If you have already forgotten the events of the first film, or worse, never even watched it yet, it’s about time you settle down for a good movie night.
To kick-start your journey, here is a short recap of the events of the first film.
Set in 2154, Earth is dying and humans are trying to get resources from a planet called Pandora which is inhabited by the Na’vi species aka the blue people. Jake Sully replaces his brother as an avatar (Na’vi-human hybrid) and heads to Pandora.
Over there, he meets a female Na’vi, Neytiri, whom he falls in love with.
But the problem is, his mission is to uncover details of the mineral found on the planet. In a tough spot, Jake has to decide which side he wants to fight for. And so, the battle between Na’vi and the humans ensues.
It doesn’t end there but for the sake of no spoilers, our recap will. So give the movie a watch or rewatch for the full experience.
Original Cast Set to Return with New Faces
Titled Avatar: The Way of Water, the familiar cast of Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, and Sigourney Weaver will be back for the sequel.
Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore and CCH Pounder will also be returning.
Joining the cast are Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis and Kate Winslet so there is a good mix of franchise favourites and Na’vi newcomers.
So Good You Won’t Forget It
If Avatar left you absolutely mind-blown 13 years ago, the sequel is about to do the same.
Speaking in March, Steve Asbell, President of 20th Century Studios, teased that the sequel is “going to blow people away”, adding, “You’re not ready for what Jim is doing.”
Jim Cameron, director of Avatar, revealed at CinemaCon 2022 that he was “hard at work putting the final touches on the film”.
Saldana also teased that the film is going to be one hell of a ride.
After watching just 20 minutes of the film, she was apparently speechless and moved to tears. She added that “it’s going to be an adventure that you will not forget”.
Filming Process
Owing to the mix of live-action and motion capture elements, it is unsurprising that the movie has taken a while to film despite starting in 2017.
In September 2020, Cameron revealed that they were “100% complete” on Avatar 2 and around 95% finished on Avatar 3.
Given that there are three other movies to come, Cameron has been working on all of them in recent years. He had mixed the schedules for the first two sequels and filmed them together, based on the types of scenes and environments.
In December 2021, he revealed that he already filmed some of Avatar 4 due to the young cast.
Why So Many Delays
Yes, that’s the question that has been on all of our minds.
After the first film left us hungry for another, viewers were instead given a 13-year-wait.
But the truth is, Avatar 2 was not meant to take so long. It was actually scheduled for release in December 2014 and Avatar 3 was scheduled for December 2015.
After delays, filming was meant to start in April 2016, but that didn’t work out either. It was only in September 2017, that filming for the sequel began.
After another round of delays, Avatar 2 was set for a December 2020 release before Disney shifted it again to December 2021, after completing the takeover of Fox, and that brings us right up to the latest delay — December 2022. Whew.
And it seems like that will materialise since all the work has been completed. Fingers crossed.
Subsequent Films and Game Release
So mark your calendars because Avatar: The Way of the Water will be released on 16 December 2022.
In 2024, provided no other delays occur again, we will get to see Avatar 3, then Avatar 4 in December 2026, and Avatar 5 in December 2028.
Currently, Ubisoft is also releasing Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, a first-person open-world action-adventure video game adaptation.
Featured Image: 20th Century Studios