Avatar 2 has been a Hollywood mystery for over a decade. When, oh when, is this sequel finally coming? It looks like the wait is finally etching closer. Variety gives us details of what went on during Cinemacon, where Disney revealed the first test footage to attendees. The name of the sequel has also been revealed, Avatar: The Way of Water.
Cinemacon passed out 3D glasses as they piled in to watch the first bits of footage. According to reports, the footage contained almost no dialogue. The footage was apparently a display of the various regions across the immersive world of Pandora, which first delighted audiences back in 2009. Viewers got to see oceans, lakes, and footage of a Na’vi tribe interacting with various species of alien animals. The whale and pelican like creatures flew across the screen and into the audiences thanks to the 3D technology.
James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water brings Jake Sully and Neytiri back into the spotlight. Taking place over a decade after the events of the first movie, the couple now has children of their own and are facing new threats. During the trailer, Sully reportedly says to Neytiri, “I know one thing. Wherever we go, this family is our fortress.”
Avatar 2: a Big World on a Big Screen
Jon Landau, the producer of the Way of Water, states that ‘family’ will be at the center of the upcoming planned sequels for Avatar. Each film will be directed as standalone movies, a much different direction than the now widely accepted Marvel movies telling one large story over several movies. Landau also points out with Variety the importance of turning the movie-going experience into something truly special.
“We need to make sure [audiences] have an experience they can’t get anywhere else, and that needs to be exclusively in theaters.”
This direction makes complete sense considering what made Avatar so special when it first premiered in 2009. Thanks to the success of 3D and the cutting-edge special effects, audiences were hooked on Pandora and couldn’t stay away from the theaters. This allowed the movie to keep running successfully in cinemas for nearly 10 months. The success led Avatar to topple Cameron’s previous box office juggernaut, Titanic, and land it the title of highest-grossing movie in history. The film was beaten out in 2019 by a little movie called Avengers: Endgame, but a re-release in 2021 allowed it to snatch that title back and reclaim its #1 spot on the list. In anticipation of Way of Water, Disney plans to re-release the film again to theaters on September 23rd.
The newly released title of this movie is no mystery. Apparently, the water effects for this film were one of the main reasons why Cameron has been spending over a decade perfecting the film, so it’s safe to bet that this movie will take place on, around, or under the waters of Pandora. Cameron himself is still hard at work in New Zealand polishing up the final touches of the movie. But he appeared at Cinemacon in pre-recorded videos to tell exhibitors about the movie, stating that it is “designed for the biggest screen and the most immersive 3D available”. Cameron is aiming to “test out the limits of what cinema can do” with Way of Water.
Avatar: The Way of Water will be premiering on December 16th of this year; its first trailer is set to debut in front of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, coming to theaters on May 6th.