Avatar: The Way of Water: release date, trailer, cast, plot, and more

Date:
Thu, 17 Dec 2020 14:56:03 +0000

Description:
Heres everything you need to know about Avatar: The Way of Water, which arrives in theaters worldwide on December 16.

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After more than a decade, Avatar: The Way of Water is almost here, with the highly anticipated sequel set to arrive in theaters worldwide on December 16,

The follow-up to James Camerons box office smash hit is set to be one of the biggest movies of the year (even if were in the final few weeks of 2022). So theres never been a better time to catch up on everything we know so far
about one of the final few new movies of 2022.

Below, weve compiled everything worth knowing about Avatar 2 before it swims into cinemas. That includes its release date, trailers, full cast, plot details, the franchises history and future, and much more. Major spoilers for 2009s Avatar follow , as well as some mild spoilers for Avatar 2 .

Here, then, is everything you need to know about Avatar: The Way of Water. Avatar: The Way of Water release date Avatar 2 leaps into theaters worldwide in mid-December. (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Avatar: The Way of Water launches worldwide on Friday, December 16 .

Originally, it was supposed to land in cinemas all the way back in December 2014. However, thanks to multiple pre-production issues including a lengthy wait for the correct technology to become available the film has been
delayed eight (!) times. Thankfully, it wont be held back from us much
longer. And, funnily enough, Avatar 2 will make landfall almost 13 years to the day that the original 2009 sci-fi movie was released.

With a reported runtime of three hours and 12 minutes, it seems that iconic director James Cameron, the cast, and the whole crew want to make up for the arduous wait between films. Avatar: The Way of Water trailer

Two new trailers have been released for Avatar: The Way of Water in the lead up to its release. The first is the movies official trailer, which arrived in early November and you can view above.

Meanwhile, a second teaser title Monolith was released on November 22:

Until recently, wed only seen shorter teaser trailers that captured the spectacle of the wondrous CGI and special effects, but didnt give us details about the films story. The latest trailers really deliver, though giving us
a broad look at Pandora, some major plot points, plenty of action, and snippets of dialogue.

Additionally, 18 minutes of unseen footage were also revealed at the
Brazilian Comic-Con Experience (CCXP). According to Collider , this footage expands on many of the details weve previously seen in Novembers two
trailers. We learn more about Pandoras sea and the peoples that live there, storylines about Jake and Neytiris kids, and spoilers! we find out Doctor Grace Augustine's (Sigourney Weaver) was pregnant when she died in the original movie. Avatar: The Way of Water plot What is Avatar 2 actually
about? (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Full spoilers follow for 2009s Avatar.

Heres the official plot synopsis, courtesy of Disney: "Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water tells the story of the Sully family, the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure."

That doesnt give away too much, so what have the cast and crew said that
might tease more about what the plot entails? In an interview with Variety , James Cameron described the movie as a "family saga". Additionally, its set
14 years after the original and focuses on Jake (whose human consciousness
was permanently downloaded into his Navi body) and Neytiri and their kids.

In an interview with RNZ , executive producer Jon Landau elaborated further, saying: "This is the story of the Sully family and what one does to keep
their family together. Jake and Neytiri have a family in this movie, they are forced to leave their home, they go out and explore the different regions of Pandora, including spending quite a bit of time on the water, around the water, in the water."

This explains the movies title. From the trailers, its clear that much of the movie will take place around Pandora's oceans, with the newly introduced sea-faring Metkayina clan playing a key role. The Metkayina tribe are
properly introduced in Avatar 2. (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

In an interview with Slashfilm , Landau spoke more about the decision to set much of the movie in and around the sea. "We made the decision for the
sequels not to do necessarily what other science fiction movies do, he explained. Which is if they want water they go to the ocean planet; and if they want snow, they go to the ice planet [...] We realized we could travel our whole lives and not see all the true wonders Earth has. So Jim made the decision to set the sequels all on Pandora. Our stories introduce us to different environments and also different cultures."

As you might expect, its not all plain sailing on Pandoras seas. There'll be run-ins with the humans of the Resources Development Association (RDA) the military organization that waged war with the Navi of Pandora in the original film.

Although Avatar: The Way of Water follows on from the story of the original, its been stressed in several interviews that the latest film and all subsequent ones will function as stories in their own right.

According to Landau (per the Slashfilm interview linked above), this is one
of the reasons the sequel has taken so long to make. "We're making standalone movies that will stand alone [...] knowing that we wanted to tell multiple stories, we didn't just want to solve one script," he said. "We wanted to solve the scripts for all of the movies we wanted to make before we ventured out into making them. That's what took us the time." Avatar: The Way of Water cast Who has been cast in Avatar 2? (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Heres the full cast list for Avatar: The Way of Water: Sam Worthington as
Jake Sully Zoe Saldaa as Neytiri Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch Sigourney Weaver as Kiri Kate Winslet as Ronal Jack Champion as Miles
"Spider" Socorro Cliff Curtis as Tonowari Jamie Flatters as Neteyam Britain Dalton as Loak Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuktirey Bailey Bass as Tsireya Filip Geljo as Aonung Duane Evans Jr. as Rotxo CCH Pounder as Moat Joel Davide
Moore as Doctor Norm Spellman Dileep Rao as Doctor Max Patel Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet Alicia Vela-Bailey as Zdinarsk Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore Brendan Cowell as Captain Mick Scoresby Jemaine Clement as Doctor Ian Garvin CJ Jones at TBA

Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaa are stepping back into their motion capture (mo-cap) suits to play leads Jake and Neytiri, while Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, and CCH Pounder are all returning, too.

There are also surprise returns for Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, whose characters Grace Augustine and General Quaritch died in the first movie. How is that possible? Well, strap in because the explanations are wild.

According to Empire , Weaver isnt back as Grace Augustine in Avatar: The Way of Water, but as an entirely new Navi character called Kiri, who is Jake and Neytiris adoptive teenage daughter. Collider reports that the footage shown
at CCXP expands on how this works, and its all to do with the fact Augustine was pregnant when she died, meaning the Navi could (somehow) let her generate a daughter.

What about Quaritch? It looks like hell be a key antagonist in Avatar: The
Way of Water and possibly the following movies, too. In an interview with Empire , Lang explained how thats possible: "Hes a genetically-engineered autonomous avatar. He has been downloaded with the mind, the emotions, and even more interestingly, possibly the spirit of Quaritch. Now, that's all pretty esoteric stuff. He comes with a full memory bank up until the time he actually undergoes the DNA transfer. So there are certain things that he doesn't have any memory of at all. He has no memory of his death." Avatar:
The Way of Water introduces many new characters to the sci-fi film franchise. (Image credit: 20th century studios)

There are plenty of newbies joining the cast, too including Cameron's
reunion with Titanic star Kate Winslet, who's playing Ronal. There are also roles for Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement among many others. Baby Drivers C.J. Jones is also in the movie but his role remains undisclosed at the time of writing.

Finally, seven young actors have joined the cast. Jake and Neytiri's children are played by Jamie Flatters (Neteyam), Britain Dalton (Lo'ak), and Trinity Bliss (Tuktirey). Meanwhile, there are three free-diving Metkayina kids confirmed: Bailey Bass (Tsireya), Filip Geljo (Aonung), and Duane Evans Jr (Rotxo). Lastly, Jack Champion plays a human teenager born on Pandora called Javier "Spider" Socorro. Avatar: The Way of Water cost Check out the
exclusive @IMAX artwork for #AvatarTheWayOfWater, only in theaters December 16. Get tickets now: https://t.co/9NiFEIpZTE pic.twitter.com/2E2rK97TxS November 21, 2022 See more

The original Avatar film came out in 2009, was a major hit, and is still the highest grossing movie of all-time. Even before its success, James Cameron
had been planning on following it up with more Avatar instalments. For years he worked on scripts and concepts for sequels, but there were many obstacles along the way, including the Disney/Fox merger, technological difficulties, and Covid-19 delays.

So, how much could it make globally? According to Box Office Pro , Avatar 2 might rake in between $135 and $175 million during its opening weekend. With the holiday season right around the corner (and little in the way of competition), too, you can expect it to dominate the box office through the New Year.

While the first movie was (and still is) incredibly popular, though, some people are worried that the sequel might not measure up. Thats particularly true when you consider its one of the most expensive movies ever made, with
an estimated budget of between $350 and $400 million.

Are audiences still as wow-ed by CGI as they were more than a decade ago? Hopefully, fans will feel safe in Camerons hands. Hes the driving force
behind some of the most popular movies of all-time, including Aliens, The Terminator, and Titanic. Many will also be lured back by the promise of learning more about Pandora and seeing how the story they fell in love with
in 2009 has moved on. Time will tell, though, if The Way of Water can come close to matching the originals extortionate haul of $2.93 billion. Avatar: The Way of Water: underwater technology

Still photographer Mark Fellman snapped this photo last year of Britain Dalton during underwater performance capture on the Avatar sequels. Jon
Landau

A photo posted by @jonplandau on Jun 24, 2020 at 9:56am PDT

From The Abyss to Terminator 2 and Titanic to Avatar, a new James Cameron movie usually pushes the envelope when it comes to cinematic ambition. Expect Avatar: The Way of Water to be no different, with Cameron undoubtedly
creating visuals unlike anything we've seen on screen before.

Thanks to producer Jon Landau, we can see (in the image above) a man in underwater CGI gear riding what looks like some sort of sea-dwelling
creature.

One of the key developments is the world's first underwater performance capture technology. "The problem with water is not the underwater part, but the interface between the air and the water, which forms a moving mirror," Cameron told Collider . "That moving mirror reflects all the dots and
markers, and it creates a bunch of false markers. It's a little bit like a fighter plane dumping a bunch of chaff to confuse the radar system of a missile. It creates thousands of false targets, so we've had to figure out
how to get around that problem, which we did."

We can see more in the image below with Kate Winslet, whose underwater mo-cap suit appears to show something that could be a huge tail trailing behind her, along with weights to keep her underwater. The latter she clearly did with aplomb: the Hollywood icon broke Tom Cruise's record by holding her breath
for a, err, breathtaking , seven minutes and 12 seconds. "I have to learn how to free-dive to play that role," Winslet told The Hollywood Reporter .

Wanted to share this photo of Kate Winslet after reading her interview in
The Hollywood Reporter: I had to learn how to free-dive to play that role in Avatar, and that was just incredible. My longest breath hold was seven
minutes and 14 seconds, like crazy, crazy stuff. She stops herself, afraid that shes given away too much on the top-secret project. Oh no, actually, I cant. Yeah, I play a water person. I am a water person, is all she will
offer, instead shifting to praise of Cameron." Jon Landau

A photo posted by @jonplandau on Oct 26, 2020 at 9:44am PDT

Cameron also wants to revolutionize the 3D experience in cinemas again, and it'll be particularly interesting to see how he fares. Avatar's 3D visuals kickstarted new levels of interest in stereoscopic projection and, for
several years in the wake of its release, multiplexes were dominated by 3D screenings of blockbusters.

Cinemagoers' interest has subsequently waned a change Cameron has blamed on Hollywood's preference for converting 2D-shot movies into 3D in post-production, rather than using actual stereoscopic cameras. But, in an appearance at the Vivid light festival in Sydney (reported by Movieweb ), he said the Avatar sequels "will be, to the best of my ability, the best 3D that [it's] possible to make." The last set for 2020 filming The Matador (a 50 forward command boat) on a 16-ton, 360 degree motion-control base. Three Technocranes and a Russian Arm mounted on top of a Mercedes-Benz. Just
another day on the set of the Avatar sequels. (credit @jonlandau) pic.twitter.com/MB6dzUzeEr December 15, 2020 See more

When it comes to filming on (sort of) terra firma, filming Avatar is just as ostentatious and expensive. In the tweet Cameron shared above, the director showed the monstrous kit that would be used to see out production for the year: The Matador. "It's a "50' forward command boat on a 16-ton, 360 degree motion-control base", he said. Pretty impressive, eh? Avatar: The Way of Water: series' future #Neytiri herself, Zoe Saldaa, and producer Jon Landau arrive on-stage at Brazil Comic Con to talk #AvatarTheWayOfWater #CCXP2022 pic.twitter.com/IuN2ZXybQR December 1, 2022 See more

Theres a lot of pressure on Avatar: The Way of Water to perform well. According to Deadline , Cameron hinted that if Avatar 2 doesnt achieve commercial success, it might influence whether the other movies are even
made. As it stands, theyre due to land on our theater screens on December 20, 2024, December 16, 2026, and December 22, 2028.

The names of these next three movies havent been officially revealed.
However, BBC News has "seen documentation" with details of the titles:
Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa. For now, these names are unverified, so we advise you to maintain an
air of scepticism about them.

Even if Avatar: The Way of Water is the second and final entry in the series, Camerons place in cinematic history is assured. Were sure hed like his latest franchise to continue after Avatar 2 is released, regardless of who helms subsequent entries (Cameron has said hed pass the directorial baton over
after a potential third installment), but he knows full well that its future depends on its box office success. Well be crossing our fingers and Navi braids that The Way of Water is big enough, then, to warrant some sequels.



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