A first teaser trailer for the long-awaited Avatar sequel, Avatar: The Way Of Water, has arrived.
The teaser is the first look audiences have gotten at the Avatar sequel. Avatar was released all the way back in 2009 and has gone on to gross $2.847 billion at the box office, making it the highest grossing movie of all time for a full decade. That ended in 2019 when it was finally overtaken by Avengers: Endgame, but a re-release in China in 2021 then put Avatar back on top of the all-time list.
Initially, the movie was supposed to be in theaters in December of 2014, but has been delayed over and over again. Now, and we hope this is a release date that will stick, it is due in theaters on December 16 this year.
A further three sequels for Avatar are confirmed. Avatar 3 is filmed, with work already underway on the fourth instalment. As things stand, Avatar 3 is due in 2024, with Avatar 4 in 2026 and Avatar 5 in 2028.
Does the trailer give much away plot-wise?
Not really. The film's official synopsis, which was released alongside the trailer, reads as follows: “Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.”
At the end of Avatar, we watched as Sam Worthington's Jake Sully was permanently transferred into his avatar by the Tree of Souls and about to begin a new life with Zoe Saldana's Neytiri as the rest of the humans (who had invaded the planet of Pandora in search of the lucrative rock unobtanium) were sent packing.
The trailer suggests that Jake has stuck it out and made a life for himself and Pandora seems to be flourishing. The mines left behind by humanity seem to have been occupied by the native Na'vi and there are lots of lavish shots of people enjoying time underwater, showing off the vast technological leaps that have delayed this film endlessly over the years.
The teaser does also suggest that trouble is coming, trouble from who we don't know, but there's a nice shot of Jake surfing with a machine gun. Given that and the title, maybe trouble lives under the sea.
Is everyone back for Avatar: The Way Of Water?
Pretty much. Worthington and Saldana are stepping back into their performance capture suits to play Jake and Neytiri, as well as that Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore and CCH Poundera all reprising their roles. There are also surprise returns for Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, whose characters Grace Augustine and General Quaritch both died in the first movie.
Joining the cast are Kate Winslet, Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement, Harry Potter's David Thewlis, Michelle Yeoh, die Falco and Oona Chaplin.
James Cameron is once again at the helm and has written the script alongside Foundation co-creator Josh Friedmann. That release date again is December 16. And yes, you will need your 3D glasses for this one. We may be months out from the film's release, but you best start rooting around for them now.
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