By the time Avatar 2 gets here, will anyone even still care to see it anymore? The first film may have grossed an eye-watering $2.78 billion at the box office, but that was back in 2009. With the sequel not even set to go in front of the camera until this summer, that means it won’t be with us until 2018, at the earliest. Though knowing how director James Cameron works, it may be 2019 or 2020 before it actually hits theaters. Even Sigourney Weaver is doubtful that we’ll see it next year.
Avatar 2 is definitely coming though, and so is Avatar 3, 4 and 5, with Cameron hard at work on the entire series. Last we heard, the director said that he’d finally finished with all of the scripts and is now starting “active prep.” While it’s encouraging to hear that the writing’s now done, we’ll feel a lot better once we see tangible proof that the cameras are rolling. After things get going in earnest though, it seems that we’ll be in for something quite special. At least, that’s according to star Sam Worthington.
While chatting with us earlier today in New York City to promote his new film The Shack, the actor said that Avatar 2 will be like “nothing we’ve ever seen” and while it’s going to be bigger than what came before, at its core, it’ll be a movie about family.
“They’re going to be shooting concurrently. The plan is to have some time in between, I think, but these things are always ambiguous until they start. We’re still set to start in the summer, though. James needed time to perfect the scripts. Whenever he says jump I go because he’s the man. I’ve read all the scripts, they’re great. This is going to be Jake eight years later, and he’s got a family now.
This film is going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen. The world is bigger than the first one, but essentially, it’s a movie about family. Jake will still have that essence of a kid seeing the world for the first time, but he’s been living in the world for a while now, so what’s this world he’s seeing now for the first time? The film will explore that within this family dynamic.”
Oddly enough, this is the second time this week we’ve been promised an experience that will be unlike “anything we’ve ever seen before,” as Joe Russo said as much in regards to Avengers: Infinity War. In some sense though, Worthington is probably right. Given how damn impressive Avatar was on a technical level, we’re expecting to have our minds blown again with the sequel, especially now that Cameron has had almost a decade to perfect and refine the technology that’s going to bring Pandora to life. Whether that will translate into a better movie, however, is up for debate.
Yes, Avatar was a technical marvel, but in terms of storytelling and character development, it wasn’t exactly anything to write home about. It was just lucky that it was so visually stunning that most people seemed not to care. Still, it’d be nice to see those areas improved upon in the sequel. After all, who knows if audiences will be so forgiving the second time around?
With production on Avatar 2 set to kick off in the summer, it shouldn’t be too much longer now before we start hearing more about it. Until that point, however, feel free to share with us your thoughts on what you’d like to see when we return to Pandora.
