It looks like after nearly eight years, it is really, truly, finally happening.Avatar 2is actually going to start filming this year. According to a new report, shooting is scheduled to begin onAvatar 2(as well as 3, 4 and 5) later this year which would mean that it may actually meet the December 2018 release date that is currently in place, but that still seems like a bit of a stretch.
According to an updated listing on My Entertainment World,Avatar 2is now scheduled to begin filming on August 15. Though this isn’t anything official from directorJames Cameronor Fox, My Entertainment World has become an increasingly reliable source for production information such as this. So it looks like we may finally be heading back toPandora. Better late than never. Or at least that is what Fox is hoping.
James Cameronrevealed last year that a big reason for the delay is that, when writing began, he realized there was a much larger story to tell. So large in fact, that there will now be a total of fiveAvatarmovies when all is said and done. It is said that all four of theAvatar sequelsare going to shoot at the same time, which means it is going to be a truly massive production process and likely a very expensive one. The director recently revealed that all of his scripts are finished and that they were expecting to start doing motion capture in August, so this new report gels with that. Here is what he had to say in an interview with the Daily Beast last month.
“The thing is, my focus isn’t on Avatar 2. My focus is on Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5 equally. That’s exactly how I’m approaching it. They’ve all been developed equally. I’ve just finished the script to Avatar 5. I’m now starting the process of active prep. I’ll be working with the actors in the capture volume in August, so I’m booked in production every day between now and then. Our volume is up and running, and everything is designed, and so we’re going full-guns right now. I feel like I’ve been let out of jail, because I’ve been in the writing cave for the last two years. I’m actually enjoying life. I don’t enjoy writing. I wouldn’t wish writing on a dog.”
There have been a ton of false starts withAvatar 2over the years, but it has remained clear that the movie would happen at some point. This time feels different, though. There seems to be some real traction and now that the scripts are done, there is no reason for the movies not to move forward. As it stands,Avataris still by far the highest-grossing movie ever made, with a total take of $2.78 billion. Even if all four sequels only make a fraction of that, they will still be very successful movies.
Story details for theAvatarsequels have largely been kept under wraps, but we know thatZoe Saldana,Sigourney Weaver,Stephen LangandSam Worthingtonare all coming back for the sequels.James Cameronmay even be able to crack the code on “glasses-free” 3D before the finalAvatarmovie is released, which would be pretty cool. As of right now,Avatar 2is scheduled to hit theaters inDecember 2018, and the three sequels will follow in December of 2020, 2022 and 2023.
