A powerhouse when it was released, Avatar was a visual masterpiece. James Cameron had pushed the boundaries of technological film making beyond what anyone had previously seen. So much so, that it inspired an entire world of floating plants and light up wonders at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. People instantly wanted more, and fans are finally going to get it, in 4 feature length films set to release in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027.
With filming under way, more details about the long awaited sequel are slowly being released. In 2019, a possible title, Avatar:The Way of Water, began floating around, and Cameron confirmed it was a possible title, but the final decision had not been made yet. The movie will most likely have something to do with water though, as new photos released of the cast filming, are all in a giant water tank, and Kate Winslet was brought on to play a Na’vi who lives in the water. In addition to Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Vin Diesel, and Edie Falco are other big names that will be gracing your screen in the sequel. Returning cast members include Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang. It will be interesting to see how they incorporate Weaver and Lang, as (*spoiler alert*), their characters both died in the first film.
Plot wise, not much is known, but we do know that the film is supposed to follow the children of Sully (Worthington) and Neytiri (Saldana), as they explore more than just the forests of Pandora that we got to see in the first film. Although set in the same world, the storyline will not be a continuation of the environmental takeover plot observed in Avatar. Instead, each film will have its own adventure, not requiring you to have seen the previous movies to understand what is happening. However, Colonel Quaritch (Lang) will still be the bad guy for all the sequels.
I am already excited for what I’m sure will be a cinematic masterpiece. In addition to the advancements in technology since the original was released 10 years ago, James Cameron has divulged that the film will be shot underwater using a groundbreaking filming technique, Underwater Motion Capture. This technique has never been used before, and requires the scenes actually be shot underwater, instead of filming them on a sound stage, and adding CGI later. It is a long and labor intensive process, which explains why the sequel is taking so long. Good news for fans though, they’re filming Avatar 3 at the same time, so hopefully it wont be far behind.
Avatar 2 is set to be released December 17, 2021, and I am so excited to see where in the world of Pandora we’ll be brought!
