Avatar 2: Everything You Need To Know
After 13 long years, Disney has finally released the trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, the highly anticipated sequel to the sci-fi blockbuster Avatar (2009). The teaser took us back to the lush and vibrant world of Pandora, the homeworld of the blue Na’vi species. Majestic beasts soaring in the sky, massive floating islands and beautiful character shots made it seem like a National Geographic clip-on blue people.
Avatar: The Way of Water will premiere in theatres on December 16, 2022.
The first footage from Avatar: The Way of Water was showcased at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 27. The footage was hailed as the ‘winner’ of the event and now it has been released to the general public.
If you don’t remember the plot of the first film, don’t fret! Disney is re-releasing Avatar (2009) in theatres starting September 23, 2022.
What’s The Plot for Avatar: The Way of Water?
Avatar 2 takes place more than 10 years after the first film’s events, which saw Marine veteran Jake (Sam Worthington) fall in love with the Na’vi princess Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and fight alongside the native people to defend Pandora, his new home.
From the preview, it seems that Jake and Neytiri are now the proud parents of a young blue boy. With humans seemingly back on the planet, it’s possible that we will see a new confrontation between human invaders and the native people of Pandora.
Cast for Avatar 2
Avatar 2 will see the return of Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana as Jake and Neytiri respectively. Along with the duo, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, and Matt Gerald will return to reprise their roles. The movie will also feature new additions to the franchise particularly Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, and Michelle Yeoh.
Check out the trailer for Avatar 2!
Why Was Avatar So Successful? And Can They Do It Again?
It’s been a long time since Avatar (2009) dazzled moviegoers with cutting-edge CGI and visuals that were far ahead of its time. The big-budget sci-fi flick took the industry by storm and set a new standard for feature 3D films. It was nominated for nine academy awards and won 3 of them in Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.
Avatar was a colossal blockbuster at the time of its release. It was the first film after Titanic to soar past the $2 billion mark at the box office and ran in theatres for more than six months. After being briefing toppled by Avengers: Endgame’s $2.79 billion box office haul, Avatar was briefly released to win back it’s crown with $2.802 billion.
What made Avatar different from any other movie was Cameron’s innovative approach to 3D and CGI. The visuals were breathtaking and transported viewers to the world of Pandora with 3D glasses. The word of mouth was so influential for this movie that pretty much every moviegoer experienced this film at least once in theatres.
But 14 years later, CGI has become the norm for most big-budget films. From CGI effects in Marvel films to exploring space with Interstellar (2014), the audience has now seen its fair share of films that boast of amazing CGI.
Avatar: The Way of Water will have an uphill battle to meet and exceed the expectations of fans. Beating Avatar’s leading box office record of $2.84 billion seems like a near impossibility considering the film will be watched by a new generation of fans, but we will just have to just wait and watch.
Why Did Avatar 2 Take So Long To Shoot?
The filming of Avatar 2 was a complicated process due to the underwater set that requires years of technological research. The movie heavily focuses on underwater filmography which led to the creation of new CGI and filmmaking techniques to accurately capture the vision of the director. Even the actors were trained to hold their breaths for a long time under water.
Kate Winslet actually broke Tom Cruise’s record for the longest underwater breath-hold in a feature film. Tom Cruise had earlier held his breath underwater for six minutes for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation but Winslet broke his record by holding her breath underwater for a stunning seven minutes and 14 seconds!
Director James Cameron even commented that he had to wait for 3D technology to evolve further to fully capture the real feel of Avatar 2.
“We want to take you to Pandora and feel it, smell it, so you can go on a real journey, and 3D imaging helps with that…People want to go to the cinema and have a full experience, not 90%, but 100%.”
Audiences looking to immerse themselves in the world of Pandora should watch Avatar 2 in IMAX 3D and nothing less than that.
Will There Be More Avatar Movies?
The sequel will expand the mythology created by the visionary director in Avatar, which was just the stepping stone for the franchise. Director James Cameron has confirmed that the sequel will the first of four new movies set in the beautiful world of Pandora. If there is no change in the schedule, the release dates for the next movies are as follows:
- Avatar 2 – Dec 16, 2022
- Avatar 3 – Dec 20, 2024
- Avatar 4 – Dec 18, 2026
- Avatar 5 – Dec 22, 2028
