Nearly 13 years ago, iconic director James Cameron introduced people around the globe to the world of Avatar. Fans were blown away by the incredible graphics, beautiful story, and new world of Na’vi. The film was an immediate hit and ended up grossing more than $2 billion worldwide — making it the highest-grossing film of all time. Before the film was even released, Cameron said that he would make sequels if Avatar was successful, and the sequel films were announced in 2010.
Originally, the second Avatar film was expected to be released in 2014, but 2014 came and went with nothing. Seven years later and we were still waiting, but the promise of a sequel was still there. Well, the time has come, and we now have, not only a title for the second film, which we had known, but we finally know when it will hit theaters.
Avatar producer Jon Landau flew in from New Zealand to make the announcement at CinemaCon in Las Vegas — while James Cameron made his appearance virtually. At CinemaCon, the two shared that Avatar: The Way of the Water will be premiering in theaters on December 16, 2022. They also shared that the subsequent films will premiere on December 20, 2024, December 18, 2026, and December 22, 2028.
Variety shared more on the exciting CinemaCon event:
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family — Jake, Neytiri and their kids — and 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…
Cameron, who is still in New Zealand putting the final touches on “Avatar 2,” appeared in a pre-recorded video to tell exhibitors about the film. He says it is “designed for the biggest screen and the most immersive 3D available,” adding that he “set out to test the limits of what cinema can do.”
Producer Jon Landau, who flew in town from New Zealand for less than 24 hours, indicated that “family” will be at the center of the four sequels. Each follow-up film will play out as a standalone movie and will come to its own conclusion.
Along with [James] Cameron, [Sam] Worthington and [Zoe] Saldana, the $250 million-budgeted “Avatar 2” brings back Giovanni Ribisi, Sigourney Weaver, CCH Pounder and Stephen Lang. Those actors will be joined by new faces to the franchise, including Kate Winslet, Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Cliff Curtis and Jemaine Clement.
“We need to make sure [audiences] have an experience they can’t get anywhere else, and that needs to be exclusively in theaters,” Landau said.
While only CinemaCon attendees had the chance to watch the trailer for Avatar: The Way of the Water, Landau and Cameron shared that the official trailer will premiere exclusively in theaters ahead of Marvel’s newest film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The new Doctor Strange film is set to hit theaters in less than 2 weeks, on May 6.
When Avatar was first released, it was not owned by the Walt Disney Company, it was owned by 20th Century Fox. However, when Disney acquired Fox in 2019, all of Fox’s properties came with it — including Avatar. In anticipation of the new film’s release, Disney will be releasing the original Avatar in theaters for a limited time, starting September 23.
