Slowly but surely, progress is being made on the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron‘s “Avatar“.
It’s been 6 years since the epic science fiction film first hit theatres. The fact that it took 14 years of planning and execution means that its planned sequels will take some time to be completed as well. After all, Cameron has a reputation for perfectionism in his films.
Of course, you won’t have to wait another 14 years for the sequels to be released.
Earlier in June, 20th Century Fox announced that “Avatar” would have 3 sequels arriving in 2017, 2018, and 2019 respectively. All 3 sequels go into production simultaneously and Cameron is co-writing the scripts with 4 other screenwriters. Josh Friedman is working on the script for the first sequel while Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver work for the 2nd. Shane Salerno is working on the script 3rd sequel.
All the scribes involved in the film are creating a full story arc for a new “Avatar” movie trilogy.
The first of the trilogy will arrive in another 2 years and Cameron recently re-confirmed that it is being eyed for a Christmas 2017 release.
In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Cameron was talking about the Avatar-themed Cirque Du Soleil show “Toruk: The First Flight”. The conversation eventually steered towards the “Avatar” sequels, with Cameron confirming to the Montreal Gazette that the first sequel is expected to arrive on Christmas 2017.
He said:
Christmas of ’17 is the target, At least, that’s what we’ve announced. But I don’t consider that to be as important as the fact that when we get all 3 films done, we drop them a year apart.
“I call it a meta-narrative that runs across the 3 movies. Each film stands alone, but it also tells one much larger story,” he explained.
According to Coming Soon, “Avatar 2” was originally slated for release in December 2016. However, it was delayed to December 2017 for further script development. Filming is poised to begin next year as Cameron revealed that the design for the “Avatar” sequels are “more or less finished”.
He said:
We have design more or less finished, which is an enormous task. It’s been about a 2-year task. (We’ve finished) all the creatures and the landscapes, and the new worlds within the world of Pandora that you see. The writing is ongoing, but almost finished. Technical development is done. Stages are done. Infrastructure.
“So we’re really poised to start after the first of the year,” he concluded.
Plot details are kept under wraps, but all 3 sequels will see the return of the original cast members, including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and Sigourney Weaver.
Cameron is producing the sequels with Jon Landau through their Lightstorm Entertainment.
Source: Coming Soon.
