Six years on from the barnstorming release of Avatar and still, despite many pretenders to the throne coming and going, James Cameron’s box office behemoth still stands as the highest-grossing film of all time – when the charts aren’t adjusted for inflation, that is – simmering north of $2.7 billion. And though it’s taken longer than expected for the director to arrive at the sequel, Cameron is confident that Avatar 2 will prove that the success of its predecessor wasn’t simply “some big fluke”
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker offered precious few details about the story set-up for the sci-fi sequel – the first of three – and how he hopes that the franchise can still make an impact in 2017 and beyond.
[zerg]According to Cameron, he’s currently in the process of going over the trio of scripts another time, as he looks to build a cohesive sci-fi universe around the mystical world of Pandora and its indigenous population.
“I’m in the process of doing another pass through all three scripts right now…you have to challenge yourself. Obviously, expectations are going to be very high on these films, especially on ‘Avatar 2,’ to make sure it wasn’t just some big fluke the first time. So we’ve got to deliver. I’ve created a nice rod for my own back, so they say.”
It’s clear, then, that Avatar 2 is still very much incubating in pre-production at this stage. Granted, we did get a fleeting glimpse at concept art some months ago, but it wasn’t enough to generate much excitement. In the end, Cameron and Co. will be facing an uphill battle to ensure the sequel can muscle its way into a slate saturated with superhero flicks, Star Wars films and Transformers movies – let alone Avatar 3 and Avatar 4.
Avatar 2 is tentatively pegged for a release in 2017, with its two sequels seemingly slated for 2019 and 2021.