Top 10 Avatar Sequel Movie Facts

After “Avatar” came out in 2009, it broke box office records, and shortly after its astonishing success, James Cameron signed a deal to create 2 follow-up films. Since their inception, the idea has been to film them simultaneously so they could be released in roughly 2-year increments. In 2016 Cameron announced there would be a total of four Avatar sequels. They’ve been following that plan since day 1, with reports saying that a considerable amount of all slated films have already been filmed. Even with many delays (which we’ll get to shortly), the groundwork has been laid for a lot of Avatar content to come.

Did you know that the original Avatar was first slated for release in 1999? It was delayed constantly by the director because he felt the technology wasn’t there yet to shape his vision! But that’s not the only reason it’s been delayed this time. It’s known he does demand a lot of his actors. In the first film, he sent his cast to the Hawaiian tropical rainforest to prepare them for the tribal settings before filming. Writing of the sequels took considerably longer than expected. And of course, Covid-19 halted production. The theatrical release has been delayed 8 times. But we’re sure the result is going to be worth the wait.

It’s been confirmed that “Avatar 2” will follow Jake and Neytiri as they raise their children on Pandora, potentially setting the new generation up as the protagonists for future films. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana will be returning for their roles, but we also have newcomers with unconfirmed roles. Actors like Jermaine Clement, Vin Diesel, Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, and more. Sigourney Weaver is confirmed to return, but not as the same character. The big bad from the first film, Colonel Miles Quaritch will also be returning, despite being impaled with an arrow last time we saw him. It seems like that cast is geared for success with such a fantastic lineup.

James Cameron has a habit of spending exorbitant amounts of money on his films in the name of technological progression, and the Avatar sequels are no exception. With an estimated collective budget of the movies being over 1 billion dollars, it could be the most expensive film shoot of all time. It’s understandable given how adventurous the project is, half of it filmed in live-action and the other half CGI. But given James’ track record, we’ll probably be seeing some phenomenal stuff as a result. The first entry made around 2.847 billion in the box office, so it’s safe to say that people can expect a return on their investment.

The Avatar property had a lot of extra content released after it hit theatres. There were action figures, books, even postage stamps! But one of the stand out additions was the tie-in video game by Ubisoft Montreal. It featured a completely original story set before the events of the film. It was met with generally favorable reviews. As to be expected with what will be a groundbreaking release, Ubisoft is set to create a second stand-alone title named: “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.” The game was announced at E3 2021, and the tantalizing details are sure to entice any fan.

Remember the 3D movies which had you wearing some plastic glasses while you watched? While James Cameron’s Avatar didn’t pioneer the tech, it was its most notable usage in cinema. The film is better experienced on the big screen, and having the environments pop out at you helped immerse you in the world. While the add-on has mostly taken a backseat in recent years, James hasn’t given up on it. In 2016, it was reported that he had been trying to push for a “glasses-free 3D experience.” James disputed these rumors as he didn’t think the tech would be ready for a 2018 release. But that doesn’t rule out that the glasses might make a return.

What technology is so groundbreaking to make James Cameron wait this long to release his movies? As one of the most prolific directors of the time, he has a lot of sway in the industry. So when Cameron wanted a completely new camera for his film, Sony actually made one called “Venice” with his specifications in mind. Industry-leading visual effects company Weta Digital helped Avatar use motion capture to create CGI performances that still hold up to this day. So of course he had to one-up himself again because this film now has motion capture that works underwater. This is an incredibly difficult feat as most motion capture relies on light to be able to record the necessary data.

It’s not just the technology that is shattering expectations, but also the actors. The locations for “Avatar 2” and onwards feature a lot of underwater scenes. Since the characters are performing while underwater, they’re not always given breathing apparatus. It’s just about holding your breath and taking some inspiration from our friends under the sea. But Kate Winslet wasn’t going to let that stop her from giving it her all. During filming, she broke the record for the longest recorded sequence filmed underwater, holding her breath for seven minutes! This record has previously been held by Tom Cruise for a scene during “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” which was 6 minutes. It was so grueling, afterward, Winslet thought she had died!

You may be wondering why Kate Winslet had to hold her breath for so long in the first place. The story of the new Avatar films will be set years after the original. The scripts reportedly took around 4 years to write and will have an overarching plot connecting all the films. New and old characters will return, but perhaps the most exciting part is a bigger glimpse into the world of Pandora. It turns out that there are tribes who live exclusively underwater, which might explain Winselt’s underwater Na’vi ceremony scene. We also know that the working titles for the 3 follow-ups are “Way of Water,” “The Tulkin Rider” and “The Quest Eywa.”

If all of the previous entries aren’t enough to convince you that the Avatar films are going to be insane, then let’s look at the finer details. James Cameron went to incredible lengths to figure out every single detail in the world of Pandora. This included extensive research into creating the environments, even considering filming part of the film in the Challenger Deep, the deepest point of the Mariana Trench. He spent years developing the language and music with linguistic experts. But perhaps the most heartwarming is that he recruited deaf actor CJ Jones to assist in developing an original, alien sign language. How awesome is that?