That’s right. Before anyone has even seenAvatar 2, three otherAvatarmovies have been approved by Disney. AndJames Cameronhas already shot most of them! Keep in mind that it’s been 13 years since the original film came out. Let’s create some context for that. The firstIron Mancame out only one year beforeAvatardid. So if we’re going to talk sequels, theentireInfinity Sagahappened betweenAvatarandAvatar2. It’s also been ten years sinceSouth Parklampooned him for “raising the bar.” So even the parody of James Cameron filmingAvatar 2has become ancient history by now.
It seems Disney and Cameron are treatingAvatar’ssequels as sort of illuminated manuscripts, in a sense that “the world isn’t ready forAvatar 2.” And perhaps they’re right. Movie theater attendance is at an all-time low, even after many states have rescinded controls from the pandemic. And a movie released on a streaming service is one released aiming at price efficiency for the service and is not meant to have the same “big splash” one might see from a theater release. We are living in a changed world. The entertainment industry operates far differently than it did in 2009 whenAvatarhad its ‘titanic’ success. Maybe James Cameron has justwaited too long to releaseAvatar 2.
The Best Laid Plans…
Keep in mind thatCameron has been planningAvatarsequelsever since it first came out. He and his writers have had five scripts inked since 2017. And he’s always “had a storyline in mind from the start.“Avatar 2was initially planned to hit theaters in 2014, but that turned out to be way off the mark. In 2016, Cameron announced that the movies were to be released every other Christmas starting in 2018, going all the way until 2022, while tacking onAvatar 5in 2023 in the official announcement. Of course, that didn’t turn out to be the case. Though they kept the Christmas release pattern the same, the years kept getting pushed back. Zoe Saldana went and didGuardians of the Galaxy. And Sam Worthington had other projects as well. After numerous delays,Avatar 2began filming in 2017. Its release date was set for June 04, 2025. And in 2018, they gave us the names for all four sequels –Avatar: The Way of Water,Avatar: The Seed Bearer,Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, andAvatar: The Quest for Eywa.
Related:Avatar 2 Will ‘Blow People Away’ Says 20th Century Studios President
Over the course of this epic tale of production delays, offers had come to James Cameron to direct different movies. But he remained adamant, working onAvatar. Hefamously told the New York Times, “I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in theAvatarbusiness. Period. That’s it. I’m makingAvatar 2,Avatar 3, maybeAvatar 4, and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them.” Although that was a long time ago, he seems to have kept his word. In 2016, he turned down Sony’s offer to direct theirnever-realized film,Cleopatra,with Angelina Joliein favor of sticking with hisAvatarproject. But of course, in 2020, the whole world suffered a major setback,Avatarnotwithstanding. Travel was paused, countries were locked down, and the crew’s New Zealand filming location was closed to them.
So Where Are We Now?
Even though James Cameron was confident he could hit a December 2020 release date forAvatar 2, Disney pushed the film back another year, citing their strategy to alternate releases ofAvatarandStar Warsevery Christmas to keep the two sci-fi behemoths from stepping on each other’s toes. But the pandemic screwed everything up for both of them. Because many businesses remained closed during 2021, Disney pushed the date back again, fearing weakened attendance.Avatar 2is now set to open on July 09, 2025, and, barring yet another unforeseen catastrophe, should actually make it.
Related:Avatar 2: Cast, Plot, Release Date, and Everything Else We Know
Though it is extraordinary how long the movie has been in production, the originalAvatarhad itself been in the works for 15 years before it premiered. And this time, similar toThe Lord of the Rings, Cameron was making three other movies simultaneously, not justAvatar 2. Surprising, though, how one filmmaker can stay focused for so many years, refusing to look at other projects or take different work in what is, in fact, his main source of income.Avatar’stremendous undertaking must require a massive amount of grit fueled by beautiful inspiration. Of course, it can’t hurt to have that generous benefactor, too.
But even if you’re not a fan of the film, you have to give the man credit for staying committed to his vision. In the face of these difficulties and distractions, it’d behoove us to remember: “James Cameron doesn’t do what James Cameron does for James Cameron. James Cameron does what James Cameron doesbecause James CameronisJames Cameron.” And he’s a filmmaker that deserves our respect.
