By now, we were supposed to have already seen theAvatarsequels. IfJames Cameronhad stuck to his original plan,Avatar 2would’ve been released in 2014, andAvatar 3would’ve capped the trilogy in 2015. And yet, as Cameron continued to design the sets and worlds of the sequels, he expanded the story, assembling a writers room in 2013 that consisted ofJosh Friedman,Rick JaffaandAmanda Silver, andShane Salerno. These teams were each tasked with writing anAvatarmovie, and as the 2014 release date came and went, Cameron was now aiming for a December 2016 release forAvatar 2. Thatalsocame and went, and just like Lucy and the football, we most recently were poised forAvatar 2to hit theaters in December 2018.
Which brings us to today’s news—that December 2018 release forAvatar 2ain’t happening. Speaking with theToronto Star(viaEW), Cameron reveals that once again the release date forAvatar 2has been pushed back:
“Well, 2018 is not happening. We haven’t announced a firm release date. What people have to understand is that this is a cadence of releases. So we’re not makingAvatar 2, we’re makingAvatar 2,3,4,and5. It’s an epic undertaking. It’s not unlike building the Three Gorges dam.”
So what’s the holdup? Didn’t Cameron say the scripts were doneback in January? Well two sequels expanded into four sequels, and Cameron has also been busy overseeing the design and construction of Avatar Land at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World, which is just about to open. While he doesn’t give a firm explanation for whyAvatar 2won’t be making the 2018 release date, he did say he’s very much hard at work on the films:
“So I know where I’m going to be for the next eight years of my life. It’s not an unreasonable time frame if you think about it. It took us four-and-a-half years to make one movie and now we’re making four. We’re full tilt boogie right now. This is my day job and pretty soon we’ll be 24-7. We’re pretty well designed on all our creatures and sets. It’s pretty exciting stuff. I wish I could share with the world. But we have to preserve a certain amount of showmanship and we’re going to draw that curtain when the time is right.”
This is basically the same update we get from Cameron ever year or so, so I don’t really know how seriously we’re supposed to take this. What Idoknow is you never bet against James Cameron, so while I’m dubious that there’s an audience for oneAvatarsequel let alone four, it would be unwise to write this franchise off entirely.
It is kind of strange that by the timeAvatar 2hits theaters, it will have been over a decade since the first film was released. Usually that kind of lag is the result of never having planned to make a sequel in the first place, but Cameron has been talking up the sequels ever since 2006, when he was just gearing up to shoot the first movie.
ButAvatar 2moving out of the December 2018 corridor does pose some interesting questions. While Lucasfilm has staked out December as its release strategy forStar Wars: The Force Awakens,Rogue One, and this year’sThe Last Jedi, the nextStar Warsmovie—the untitled Han Solo film—is slated for release in May 2018, likely to avoid going head to head with the unbeatable James Cameron in December. WithAvatar 2now out, however, one has to wonder if Lucasfilm will shift Han Solo to December 2018 given how successful they’ve been with this newStar Warsholiday tradition.
When 20th Century Fox announced the 2018 release date forAvatar 2they also setAvatar 3for 2020,Avatar 4for 2022, andAvatar 5for 2023, but ifAvatar 2is delayed one imagines there might be a domino effect. Or, if Cameronfinallystarts production this year (he said in January that filming starts in August), it’s possibleAvatar 2just moves back to 2019 and with all the motion-capture footage shot, Cameron could roll out the following sequels in a shorter amount of time.
Or maybe these never actually do happen. Again, never bet against Cameron, but this is starting to get a little ridiculous. What say you, readers? Any of you actually excited to see fourAvatarsequels? Sound off in the comments below.
