After a decade of deafening indifference from audiences, James Cameron’s promised Avatar 2 is finally set to become a reality. It’ll be some time before we actually see it as it’s not due for release until late next year, but to whet your appetite, here’s a fan trailer postulating on the tone of the forthcoming return to Pandora.
Unlike most similar creations that are cut together from various sources, the distinctive visual style of Avatar largely prevents such re-appropriation, although a prominent voiceover from Star Trek Into Darkness, a speech from Benedict Cumberbatch’s antagonist Khan Noonien Singh, is suggested to be coming from a villain whose face is unseen. Additionally, some brief flashes are taken from the film along with the space-set Gravity and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, as well as the effects-heavy Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
The notion of an old enemy returning is in keeping with the little we currently know about Avatar 2, as it’s been stated that Stephen Lang’s violently militaristic Colonel Quaritch will appear again as the primary antagonist. It’s not been revealed how he’ll return, as being killed in the first movie’s climax would typically render such a prospect difficult, although the handwaving of some advanced sci-fi tech will doubtless account for his resurrection, possibly into a mechanical or digital form.
Despite few people actually clamoring for a sequel, never mind four follow-up movies slated for biennial release over the next seven years, Avatar 2 will doubtless make an impression upon its debut, if for nothing else than the advancement in CGI making it even more of a visual spectacle than its predecessor. How long said impact will last is another matter, and until then we must rely on creative efforts such as this to remind us of what we have in store.
