The cast for Avatar 2, as well as the other sequels, continues to grow as Jemaine Clement has been added to the ensemble. James Cameron has been planning out what will eventually be a five-movie saga for the better part of the last decade and production is well underway on the next installments, which will be released by Disney in the coming years, thanks to the merger with Fox. While we await some actual footage, or even photos, we have word that a very funny individual will be making his way to Pandora.
The official Twitter account for the Avatar franchise announced that Jemaine Clement, known best as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, has boarded the sequels. Clement will reportedly play a marine biologist by the name of Dr. Ian Garvin. The announcement (which includes a little Flight of the Conchords joke) reads as follows.
"Casting announcement! Jemaine Clement has been cast in the Avatar sequels as Dr. Garvin, a marine biologist on Pandora. Glad to have you aboard Jemaine Clement! It's Business Time. #AvatarFamily"
Jemaine Clement is also known for his vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, which he made in 2014 with Taika Waititi. It has since been turned into a TV series on FX. Some of Clement's other roles include the Marvel series Legion, HBO's Divorce and Men In Black 3. Though, this is arguably his most significant role in a major franchise to date. James Cameron also responded to the news with a brief statement.
"I've loved Jemaine's work for years and I'm really pumped that he's joining our cast as Ian Garvin, one of my favorite characters."
While not much has officially been revealed about the forthcoming sequels, we know that Avatar 2 will take place largely underwater. So it seems likely that Dr. Ian Garvin will play a big role in the first of these four planned sequels. It's not yet clear if Jemaine Clement will appear in all four movies, assuming they all end up getting made.
James Cameron has already wrapped all of the motion capture needed for Avatar 2 and 3. He's since moved on to shooting actual live-action sequences in New Zealand. The cast also includes returning members such as Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang. New additions include Michelle Yeoh, Kate Winslet and Oona Chaplin. There was also a recent video posted on social media that made it seem like Vin Diesel may have a role, but that hasn't been confirmed just yet.
Disney recently shifted the release schedule for the sequels that had previously been laid out by Fox. Avatar 2 is now scheduled to hit theaters on December 17, 2021. The other three sequels will arrive on coming December 22, 2023, December 19, 2025, and December 17, 2027. We'll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the movies are made available. Feel free to check out the announcement from the official Avatar Twitter account below.