As fans prepare to return to Pandora for the long-awaitedAvatar: The Way of Water, ABC is offering a unique opportunity to revisit the original film. Although it has been available for fans to watch through streaming thanks to Disney+, DVD, cable, and other means for years now, the originalAvatarwill appear on broadcast television for the first time ever through the Disney-owned network. It’s set to air on ABC on Sunday, December 11 from 7 p.m. ET/PT, just five days beforeJames Cameron’s sequel makes its debut in theaters. It’ll also air on Freeform on December 15 and December 18 and on FX on December 26.
Avatarwas a revolutionary film when it was released, shattering box office expectations by grossing over $2.9 billion globally, remaining well ahead of other juggernauts likeAvengers: Endgameand Cameron’s other colossal hitTitaniceven when adjusted for inflation. Moreover, it’s largely responsible for popularizing 3D cinema with its incredible CGI and state-of-the-art filmmaking for the time that required a budget of $237 million without including promotional costs or other factors. Broadcast TV isn’t the same as the big screen the film was practically made for, but it’s a unique opportunity to seeAvatarif you don’t already own it or have a Disney+ subscription.
That original outing to Pandora centered on humanity’s desire to colonize the moon of Pandora and mine the precious resources there. Due to the poisonous atmosphere, however, it required humans to explore the planet through their Avatars, a body they could remotely control that resembles the native Na’vi. Former Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) joins a group of operators on the planet and eventually meets and falls in love with the female Na’vi Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), eventually being drawn into the fight to protect their home world from the encroaching humans. Thanks to the box office success and all the love the film received, Cameron is finally able to turn it into a film franchise around Jake, Neytiri, and their growing family that could run for five films.
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Avatar: The Way of WaterLooks to Continue the Original’s Legacy
Avatar: The Way of Waterwill revisit and build upon the themes of love, family, environmentalism, and more coming from one of the greatest sequel makers in film history. Cameron is renowned for taking already beloved films to the next level withAliensandTerminator 2: Judgment Dayamong his best work, and he looks to do the same withAvatar. Taking place years after the original, the sequel follows Jake, Naytiri, and their family amidst a continued struggle against the humans that forces them to uproot their lives. Earlyreactions from journalistshave mostly been over the moon with some claiming that Cameron has once again created a sequel better than the original. He’s certainly spent money rivaling the original asThe Way of Waterwill apparently need to be one of the highest-grossing films everto even turn a profit.
Among the starry ensemble for the film are returning leads Worthington and Saldaña alongsideSigourney Weaver,Stephen Lang,Dileep Rao,Cliff Curtis,Joel David Moore,CCH Pounder,Matt Gerald,Michelle Yeoh,Edie Falco,Jemaine Clement,Giovanni Rabisi,Kate Winslet,Vin Diesel, andOona Chaplin.
Avatar: The Way of Waterpremieres in theaters on December 16, but before that, catch the film that started it all on December 11 at 7 p.m. on ABC. Check out the trailer for the sequel below.
