After earning over $2.7 billion worldwide when it was released in 2009, James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ earned the distinction highest-grossing movie of all time. With numbers like that, it’s not surprising that the studio would greenlight a sequel. Although, I hardly think that any member of the movie-going public anticipated four sequels. Well, that’s exactly what we’re getting. But when it comes to details regarding the upcoming films, information has been scarce so far.
It has been said that each of the films would stand alone and that they would give audiences a look at other locations around Pandora, including the world that exists under the planet’s oceans. A number of cast members are also slated to reprise their roles including Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, Stephen Lang as Colonel Quaritch, and Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine. Aside from all this, that’s about it. However, Cameron has finally opened up when it comes to the plot of the long-awaited sequels.
In a recent interview with Variety about the Cirque du Soleil prequel to the films titled ‘Toruk’, the mastermind behind the ‘Avatar’ franchise has revealed that the next chapters in the story will follow the protagonists from the first film and their new family:
“The storyline in the sequels really follows Jake and Neytiri and their children. It’s more of a family saga about the struggle with the humans.”
Though Cameron didn’t expand any further on the plot details, he did say that they’re still aiming for ‘Avatar 2’ to be released during the 2018 Christmas season. However, he’s not against making the world wait even longer if he has to:
“We haven’t moved that target yet, but we will if we need to. The important thing for me is not when the first one comes out but the cadence of the release pattern. I want them to be released as close together as possible. If it’s an annual appointment to show up at Christmas, I want to make sure that we’re able to fulfill on that promise.”
At that point (if the movie sticks to the original release date), it will have been nearly a decade after the original premiered in theaters. By then, will audiences even still care about ‘Avatar’? With theme park attractions, video games, novels, and this arena show from Cirque du Soleil making their debuts in the very near future, a lot of people are certainly hoping so. Either way, I’m assuming that these films are coming in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023 whether we care or not.
What do you think about the latest details regarding the next ‘Avatar’ films? Are you excited to delve deeper into Na’vi mythology? And do you think that audiences will still care by ‘Avatar 5’? Sound off in the comments.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
