We’ve been begging James Cameron for something from the new Avatar movies until we’re blue in the face—much like the franchise’s mystical Na’vi peoples.
Finally we can confirm that Avatar 2: The Way of Water will arrive in Australian cinemas on December 16, and that’s not all. A few short plot snippets and promising completed footage was screened to CinemaCon visitors in Las Vegas recently, revealing some tantalising moments to come.
“The Way of Water?”, you may ask quizzically, to then be dumbfounded at the news that the remaining three Avatar sequels have even wackier names which may or may not change as their own release dates loom. We can’t wait to watch uhhh…Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa way into the future in 2025.
Disney’s recent presentation at CinemaCon featured James Cameron enthusing about new cast members Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, and Oona Chaplin. Then, some footage of Pandora’s oceanic vistas and sprawling sci-fi jungles was shown, with only one line of dialogue spoken by Sam Worthington’s returning character Jake Sully: “I know one thing. Wherever we go, this family is our fortress”. How very Fast and Furious.
Guests in attendance, such as the CinemaBlend editor speaking in the video above, say that Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) now have a little blue clan of their own, with a few Na’vi kids and one adopted human lad. Some shadowy threat—seemingly formed of both native forces and the malevolent human military—will force them to explore the outer reaches of Pandora to keep their brood safe.
Producer Jon Landau explained the coming narrative arc of the Avatar sequels each playing out as “a standalone movie”, continuing that: “each movie will deliver the audience fulfilling emotional resolutions in each and every film. however, when looked at as a whole, the journey across all four movies will create an even larger, connected epic saga.” Let’s see whether it’s epic enough to obliterate the box office again, and maybe even reclaim Cameron’s status as the director of the highest-grossing film of all time.
