Avatar 2 & 3 Update

Written by Christian James

James Cameron has proven himself to be one incredible writer and director. With some of his first films including “Terminator” and “Aliens,” it’s no surprise that he was capable of creating a name for himself. What’s even more impressive, is that he hasn’t shined away from that high reputation.

In 2009, Cameron broke box office records with his debut of “Avatar,” the film that wowed audiences with its incredible imagery and realistic looking CGI. Even today, “Avatar” holds a high standard that other movies just can’t seem to match up to. It only took a year before talks of a sequel started to brew and Cameron revealed he’d be interested in making “Avatar” into a complete saga that would include three more installments totaling to four movies.

When the sequel was first brought to light, it was given a December 2014 release date, but it was pushed back to December 2016 and then once again pushed back to hit the big screen in December 2017. The delays aren’t something that the fans are too happy about, but Cameron has expressed that they delays are due to a lack of technology.

According to Realty Today, Cameron was upset about how inefficient computer graphics tools can be even in the 21 century. A first world complaint nonetheless, but with Cameron’s eye for detail, he’s not going to release anything until it can be considered perfect by the harshest film critics. With the passing of time, Cameron and his crew have significantly increased the software, but it’s still not up to par for the underwater scenes that Cameron plans to film. They have advanced the frame rate far past the usual 24-frames-per-second, but unfortunately it’s just not enough.

Cameron has announced his association with Weta Digital, a New Zealand based digital visual effects company, with hopes that the partnership won’t only speed up the process, but will also develop a new set of tools that can be used throughout filming. There has been no specific mention of the technology Cameron is missing to complete the project, but he has never given fans a reason to doubt the trust that has been placed with him.

Comingsoon.net spoke with Cameron about his plans for the “Avatar” sequel, and while he hasn’t gone into great lengths of detail, it definitely seems that he wants to focus on the underwater ecosystem of Pandora. There he can introduce new creatures and scenarios that audiences can’t even come to imagine.

No official word on the scripts’ plot for the next three movies have been released, but Cameron was able to lock in three of the cast members from the original movie. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Stephen Lang will all return to the “Avatar” universe to reprise their roles. Worthington played the movie’s protagonist, Jake Sully, a human whose subconscious is permanently transferred to his Na’vi avatar body at the end of the movie. Saldana played a Na’vi named Neytiri, who grew very close to Jake and together saved the Na’vi population from extinction. Lang played the stories protagonist, a military commander who is killed at the end of the movie.

Without plot details it is unknown how Lang will be involved in the future of the saga, but he has been contracted for all three sequels. Knowing that, it is unlikely he’ll be shown through a flashback or something of that nature, but instead will most likely play a larger role in the coming movies. It has been rumored around the internet that when his character died, his mind may have transferred into the nature of the Pandora, making him into a larger threat for the sequels. Although Cameron may have another idea up his sleeve.

Fans can only hope that the “Avatar” sequel will begin filming soon. Cameron has expressed that the project will take an extensive time to film as well as a long time to edit in post-production. With a 2017 release date, there will be an entire eight year span between the original movie and the sequel, which could create a problem if that gap continues to occur between the third and fourth installments. While fans may be fear that the sequels will never get done, Cameron has shown his love for the franchise and is definitely a Hollywood director that can be trusted.