The wait for the highly anticipated sequels of “Avatar” is over!
Well, almost. James Cameron has finally revealed that the production for the two sequels of the well-anticipated movie has been completed. Along with the direct sequel of the original movie released in 2009, Cameron has also completed production on the third installment, “Avatar 3,” according to DailyMail.
The Independent reported that Cameron was working on the four next installments to the original movie, but only two of them are scheduled to be released. The fate of the last two installments, “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5,” hang in the distance, still uncertain.
Despite being confirmed back in 2017, the initial plan was for Fox to release “Avatar 2” and “Avatar 3” and wait to see if the sequels do well before passing the final judgment on 4 and 5. Now, with the merger of 20th Century Fox and Disney, Disney is the one that will make the final call—but it appears the decision has not been made yet, according to CinemaBlend.
Good news? “Avatar 2” and “Avatar 3” will still be released in theaters in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Bad news? Should the two sequels do poorly at the box office, “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5” will just simply not go forward. Which means two things—the franchise for the highly anticipated movie will be over, and the storyline that Cameron put his effort into will be cut short, possibly leaving it unresolved.
What may turn the tide on all of this is Cameron’s boundless imagination—as people have sung praises for its technical accomplishments on various platforms, with the general consensus on Rotten Tomatoes being, “It might be more impressive on a technical level than as a piece of storytelling, but Avatar reaffirms James Cameron’s singular gift for imaginative, absorbing filmmaking.”
Cameron is known to produce highly stunning cinematography, as seen in the original movie with its rich landscapes and breathtaking scenery.
One thing that will not be returning, however, will be the Papyrus font face that was used for the first movie—it was a subject of ridicule for a lot of people, as well as one for “Saturday Night Live.” It is uncertain as to whether the “Saturday Night Live” skit was the reason for its change, but nonetheless, it’s one that they had a good laugh about. The logo has since been redesigned.
Fondly reminiscing on the anniversary of our favorite SNL skit. Thanks for the laughs, @nbcsnl! https://t.co/iRiMqHil3m
— Avatar (@officialavatar) September 30, 2018
The original movie in 2009 had been a game-changer for a few reasons, one of the biggest reasons is that it was shot with a 3D camera and created a wave of opportunities for future movies.
Humans inhabit “Avatars”—human-Na’vi hybrids—to survive in the poisonous atmosphere of Pandora, one of the moons in the Alpha Centauri star system, in order to mine a valuable mineral called “unobtainium” after depleting Earth’s resources. An ex-marine uses these avatars to interweave himself into their world and bond with a female Na’vi as he finds himself fighting for her world.
According to BoxOfficeMojo, “Avatar” had managed to earn $2.78 billion at the box office, and to this day, remains the highest grossing films of all time, worldwide.
Although it’s been 10 years since the first movie came out, with films nowadays all shot in 3D, Cameron didn’t seem to be put off by it. The reason why the sequels have taken him so long to make was that he and his team had been trying to figure out the new step in technology, something that Cameron claimed had never been done before—underwater motion-capture technology.
While the original movie, in 2009, had been a pioneer for motion-capturing, the sequels will reach a new technological high with underwater motion-capture. Cameron also talked about viewing 3D without glasses, but it’s uncertain whether that would become a reality in 2020, and whether technology has gotten to that point just yet.
In addition to making his “Avatar” movies, Cameron had also embarked on an underwater ocean solo adventure of his own. As a part of the National Geographic Society explorer-in-residence, he made his way down, all the way to Challenger Deep—is the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere—as reported by the National Geographic.
While he denied shooting footage down there for the “Avatar” movies, as reported by MTV, he did, however, shoot footage for his documentary in 3D—and who is to say that species in the sequel won’t be inspired by deep sea creatures that he found during the dive?
Thus, whether that would be able to wow the audience, it’s unclear, but one thing is for certain, Cameron is going to use his vast imagination to astound viewers, as seen in his previous movies, and while “Avatar’s” story isn’t as captivating as its world-building, as suggested by moviegoers, people will nonetheless have something to look forward to.
Cameron has directed successful sequels, such as “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” as well as other box office hits such as the original “Terminator,” “Titanic,” and “Aliens,” to name a few.
