James Cameronhas suspended production on theAvatarsequels due to coronavirus concerns in New Zealand, according to theNew Zealand Herald(viaTHR).
Cameron had planned to shoot at Stone Street Studios in Wellington next month, but producerJon Landauhas confirmed that filming has been delayed indefinitely. Wellington-based VFX company Weta Digital will continue their work on the sequels in the meantime.
“We’ve delayed it. We had plans to come down Friday night with a group of people and start back up, and we made the decision to hold off and continue working here [in Los Angeles], and come down there a little bit later than we’d planned,” Landau told the Herald.
“We’re in the midst of a global crisis and this is not about the film industry. I think everybody needs to do now whatever we can do, as we say here, to flatten the curve.”
It’s unclear when theAvatarsequels will resume production in New Zealand, but a crew member told the New Zealand Herald that “the production is very supportive of us. We’re not being laid off, it’s on hold, so they’re still committed to shooting it here as far as I know.”
Landau said he and Cameron will be re-assessing the production schedule “everyday, because that’s how quickly things change.”
“We try and monitor all this and look at things and think about what is in the best interest of our crew. I call it ourAvatarfamily. That is really paramount to us above anything,” said Landau, who plans to get “as many minutes” as possible to Weta Digital so the company can continue its VFX work during the shut down.
Amazon’s upcomingLord of the Ringsseries had also been shooting in New Zealand before the production was put on hold over the weekend. Meanwhile, in Australia, Warner Bros. halted production onBaz Luhrmann’s untitledElvis Presleybiopic after starTom Hankstested positive for COVID-19, while Marvel’sShang-Chiwas also put on hold, though its director,Destin Daniel Cretton, recently tested negative for the virus.
Avatarbecame the highest-grossing movie of all time when it first hit theaters more than a decade ago, but the sequels have suffered one delay after another. It’s unclear whether this latest production delay will affectAvatar 2’s release date of July 22, 2025. Three additional sequels are slated every other year thereafter in December 2023, December 2025 and December 2027. Collectively, the four films are budgeted at roughly $1 billion.Sam Worthingtonreturns to star alongsideZoe Saldana,Stephen LangandSigourney Weaver.
To see some cool concept art fromAvatar 2that expands the world of Pandora,click here.
