Avatar: The Way of Water Full Trailer Released

On Wednesday, 20th Century Studios released a new trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to James Cameron’s Academy Award-winning sci-fi 2009 sci-fi movie Avatar, which is the highest-grossing film of all time. Avatar: The Way of Water opens in theaters in December. Taking place more than 10 years after the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins telling the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their children), the trouble that comes for them, how far they go to keep each other safe, fighting for their lives an enduring tragedy. To commemorate the trailer’s release, debuting first on today’s episode of ABC’s Good Morning America, the studio will project a light show with highlights from the film over Niagara Falls tonight. 

James Cameron directs Avatar: The Way of Water. It is produced by Cameron and Jon Landau. Produced by Lightstorm Entertainment Production, the film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet. James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver wrote the screenplay, based on a story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno. David Valdes and Richard Baneham serve as the film’s executive producers. 

Avatar: The Way of Water is the first of four planned sequels to Avatar. Cameron may not direct the fourth and fifth Avatar films himself.

“The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming,” Cameron told Empire in an interview published in July. “I’ve got some other things I’m developing as well that are exciting. I think eventually over time – I don’t know if that’s after three or after four – I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in. Or maybe not. I don’t know.”

Still, the Avatar movies remain important to Cameron. “Everything I need to say about family, about sustainability, about climate, about the natural world, the themes that are important to me in real life and in my cinematic life, I can say on this canvas,” Cameron says. “I got more excited as I went along. Movie four is a corker. It’s a motherfucker. I actually hope I get to make it. But it depends on market forces. Three is in the can so it’s coming out regardless. I really hope that we get to make four and five because it’s one big story, ultimately.”

Avatar: The Way of Water opens in theaters on December 16th. The original Avatar recently returned to theaters for a limited time and returned to the box office charts.