The cast of Avatar 2 prepared for the long-awaited sequels by conducting real-life underwater dives. James Cameron reinvented the sci-fi genre with his epic Avatar in 2009, an incredible feat of state-of-the-art CGI and motion capture work. Avatar told the largely self-contained story of veteran Jake Scully (Sam Worthington), who signs up to participate in a mining expedition on the fantastical planet Pandora. As Jake spends more and more time in his avatar, which allows him to inhabit the body of a Na'vi native, he realizes that the expedition might not be as beneficial as it seemed. At the time, Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time and went on to be nominated for nine Academy Awards.
Despite the standalone nature of Avatar, Cameron soon announced his intention to create not one, but four sequels. The process behind these sequels has been slow going for several years, with the first one being repeatedly delayed. Cameron has cited the complex special effects as one of the reasons the Avatar sequels have taken so long; in order to get things absolutely perfect, it's taken a long time to actually begin work, as evidenced by some pictures of an Avatar cast member. Luckily, however, production on the Avatar sequels has since gotten underway.
Producer Jon Landau has frequently shared behind the scenes photos of the Avatar sequels as ways to help hype up fans as well as share their progress. His latest comes from before motion capture work began on the sequels and shows Cameron and star Sigourney Weaver talking. As Landau explains in his caption, "Before starting performance capture on the @Avatar sequels, we took the cast to Hawaii to experience the beauty of the underwater world." Cameron and Weaver had just completed their first dives.
Avatar 2 will reportedly spend a significant time in the oceans of Pandora, so it makes sense that Cameron would require dives as some necessary research. It will likely influence the performances of the actors as they put in the motion capture work for the scenes set underwater. Behind the scenes photos of the Avatar sequels have already shown off the new technology being used for the aquatic scenes, and it will be thrilling to see it all come to life.
Sadly, however, the wait for Avatar 2 recently got a little longer. The coronavirus pandemic shut down production earlier this year, and though things have since resumed, it has put things enough behind schedule that Disney opted to push Avatar 2 back a year. Now, it will be released in December 2022, with the subsequent sequels following every two years after. While this certainly comes as blow for those who have already waited a long time for Avatar 2, it will at least ensure Cameron and his team have ample time to perfect the special effects. Perhaps now they'll also have more time for some real-life dives.
Source: Jon Landau/Instagram
