Top 5 Exciting Things In The Avatar: The Way of Water Trailer

After the climactic battle that ended the first film, the human colonizers on Pandora were sent packing. Only a few were allowed to remain. However, from the teaser trailer, it looks like the Resources Development Administration hasn’t given up. Shots of industrial and military areas suggest that the RDA is still mining the moon for unobtainium. We also see Na’vi among them - Na’vi accomplices, or humans in Na’vi bodies. Although he seemingly died in “Avatar”, Stephen Lang is returning as antagonist Colonel Miles Quaritch. Sigourney Weaver will be back too, but as a new character.

The teaser trailer opens with a familiar setting - the Hallelujah Mountains, floating on magnetic currents. However, the focus soon switches to coastal and underwater locations. Director James Cameron is passionate about deep-sea exploration and was the first person to descend solo to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The “Avatar” sequel was delayed so long because Cameron wanted to perfect motion capture technology underwater. The new environments shown off in the trailer are stunning, promising a deeper dive into Pandora’s oceanic locales. It looks like these will include another area where magnetic vortices create fantastic geological features.

The alien flora and fauna were highlights of the original film. From the trailer, the sequel’s new environments are just as rich and wondrous as Pandora’s jungles. We see Jake and other Na’vi riding banshees over a reef. Under the water’s surface, strange fish swim through the coral. A Na’vi rides what looks like an Ilu, a plesiosaur-like creature that debuted in the 3D flying simulator “Flight of Passage” at Disney's Animal Kingdom. We’re also treated to the sight of a majestic, whale-like animal, as well as a mount that looks kind of like an ichthyosaur crossed with a flying fish. It looks like “The Water of Water” will explore not only coastal areas, but also the deep sea!

Also introduced in “Flight of Passage” was a new Na’vi tribe, the Metkayina. Living along Pandora’s reefs, they make their homes in the roots of mangrove-like trees. As we glimpse in the trailer, they traverse the ocean on Ilus, much as other Na’vi use direhorses. Free-diving is also an important part of their culture. Many of the cast members had to learn to free-dive for the film. In fact, Kate Winslet was able to hold her breath for over seven minutes. Presumably, they’ll have a key role in the sea battle shown towards the end of the trailer.

James Cameron has said that “Avatar’s” four sequels will focus on Jake and Neytiri’s family over time. Set a decade after the first film, “The Water of Water” finds them raising three Na’vi children - two sons and a daughter. They also have an adopted human son, Javier Socorro, nicknamed Spider, who was born on Pandora in the RDA facility Hell’s Gate. In an interview with “Empire”, producer Jon Landau said that Neytiri has trouble coming to grips with Javier’s human heritage. The film will see the family forced from the forests of Pandora, and struggling to find acceptance among the Metkayina. We can’t wait to see them in action on December 16!