13 years after James Cameron broke his own box office records with the debut of Avatar, the filmmaker is finally bringing a sequel to the big screen. Avatar: The Way of Water is the first of four planned Avatar sequels hitting theaters over the next decade, and arrives this December. It may be difficult to know exactly what to expect from a new Avatar movie this long after the original, but franchise star Sam Worthington is confident that fans will enjoy what they’ve been working on.
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This week, after Cameron debuted the first Avatar: The Way of Water footage at CinemaCon 2022, Worthington spoke with Variety about the highly anticipated sequel.
“When I did the first one, I was 30,” Worthington said. “And when the second one comes out, I’m gonna be pushing 50. In the first one I was in a wheelchair, you know. And by the time we get to the fourth and fifth, I might actually be in a wheelchair by the time we get to do it.”
“It’s great to be a part of such an amazing family and have that longevity,” Worthington continued. “Jim is a very loyal man and he keeps the same people on board, but I’m a very small cog in this. There’s a big creative team behind it, and from what I’ve seen, it’s mind-blowing and marvelous what they’re coming up with.”
When the Avatar 2 footage was revealed at CinemaCon this week, Cameron talked a bit about the movie in a pre-recorded video that introduced it. He teased the film’s all-star cast and shared some information about its impressive technical aspects.
“With the first Avatar we set out to push the limits of the big screen with the new avatar films. We’re pushing those limits even further, with 3D with high dynamic range, with high frame rate, higher resolution, and a much greater reality in our visual effects,” Cameron said.
“But it’s not just the technical while I’m making a movie. It’s working with the actors that I find the most rewarding and it’s been an amazing adventure to explore Pandora again with our friends. So we settled on Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Steven Lang, not to mention our new cast members Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, and this incredible group of extremely talented teenagers, all of whom quickly distinguished themselves in their roles. We wanted our return to Pandora to be something really special. Every shot was designed for the biggest screen, the highest resolution, and the most immersive 3D available. We set out once again to push the limits of what cinema can do. I think we pulled it off. I hope we pulled it off. I hope when you see the film in December that you will agree.”
Avatar: The Way of Water arrives in theaters on December 16th.
