It’s been nearly 13 years since James Cameron’s Avatar took audiences on a trip to the unbelievable world of Pandora. Drawing from films like Dances with Wolves and Ferngully, the blockbuster went on to be one of the highest grossing films by earning over $2.8 million at the box office. Now, after years of delays, we are getting a first look at one the four sequels set to debut this year. That’s because 20th Century Studios has released the first trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water.
Avatar: The Way of Water continues the story of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) who has transferred his consciousness into his Navi avatar and now has settled down with his family Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). But the trailer teases that Pandora isn’t a peaceful paradise, but a moon on the brink of war as we majestic shots of the Navi interacting with the aquatic life and the environment juxtaposed against the images of human industrial colonization and war. Let’s just hope the film isn’t simply doubling down on its first story. So we’ll just have to wait and see if Cameron explores a new side to Pandora.
While Cameron pretty much popularized the use of 3D technology through his film, I wonder if it’s a visual storytelling tool to draw audiences into a world or more of a gimmick to increase box office revenue. Though, it can be said that Cameron has a way with action set pieces has we’ve seen plenty of times in the first Avatar and his other action-driven films. And, at the time, the 3D technology was beyond impressive. But everything else was just fine.
Anyways, here’s the official plot synopsis for Avatar: The Way of Water.
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.
So despite what people have been saying about the long-awaited sequel, the fact of the matter is, Avatar: The Way of Water is coming to a local theater near you. And if it does nearly as well as is predecessor or even better, then it completely justifies the subsequent sequels that are also on its way.
Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Kate Winslet. Avatar: The Way of Water opens in theaters on December 16, 2022.
