Cliff Curtis, who stars as the high school English-teacher-turned-zombie-killer Travis Manawa in AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead, has landed the lead role in James Cameron’s upcoming Avatar sequels.
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According to Deadline, the 48-year-old New Zealand actor signed on for all four sequels, and he will be portraying Tonowari, who is described as “the leader of the Metkayina, the reef people clan.”
Curtis joins a cast that includes its returning stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver. Filming is expected to begin next year at Wellington’s Stone Street Studios.
Seeing as though Curtis’s character is still very much alive on The Walking Dead spinoff series, one could speculate based on this news that Travis’s days are numbered. Committing to starring in four big-budget and time-consuming films doesn’t leave much time for starring in a television series. Plus, it reminds us of how Sasha’s death was telegraphed well ahead of time when Sonequa Martin-Green booked the lead in Star Trek: Discovery.
MORE: Avatar Sequels Get Official Release Dates / Zoe Saldana To Begin Working On Avatar 2 This Summer / James Cameron’s Avatar Sequel Will Be A Family Saga
The original Avatar earned $2.8 billion worldwide when it was released in 2009. Avatar remains the highest grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office.
The four Avatar sequels aren’t the only reasons Avatar fans have to get excited about the franchise’s future. “Pandora – The World of Avatar,” a new area Avatar-themed area, is scheduled to open in the Animal Kingdom at Disneyworld on May 27. The 12 acre section is designed to take place a generation after the events of the original Avatar movie.
Avatar (2009) currently has as 77.50 ComicBook.com Composite Score and a 3.88 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Rating. Let us know what you think of Avatar by giving the movie your own personal ComicBook.com User Rating below.
In Avatar, on the lush alien world of Pandora live the Na’vi, beings who appear primitive but are highly evolved. Because the planet’s environment is poisonous, human/Na’vi hybrids, called Avatars, must link to human minds to allow for free movement on Pandora. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralyzed former Marine, becomes mobile again through one such Avatar and falls in love with a Na’vi woman (Zoe Saldana). As a bond with her grows, he is drawn into a battle for the survival of her world.
Avatar was directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Sigourney Weaver.
Avatar 2 is now scheduled for release on Dec. 18, 2020. Avatar 3 will follow almost exactly one year later, releasing on Dec. 17, 2021. There will be a three-year hiatus leading up to the release of Avatar 4 on Dec. 20, 2024. Avatar 5 will arrive on Dec. 19, 2025.
