The trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water reveals an even more amazing depiction of Pandora than the original Avatar. From returning writer-director James Cameron, the Avatar sequel is set to land in theaters on December 16, 2022. It's been 13 years since the historic success of the original, and Avatar 2 employs CGI and performance capture to an even greater extent than its groundbreaking predecessor.
Avatar 2 is set to explore the aquatic side of Pandora, and the trailer already reveals the movie to be a monumental visual effects achievement. Indeed, the sequel already is surpassing the visual majesty of the first Avatar, with its trailer showing vast beachside Na'vi communities and the Na'vi trekking both above and below the water and interacting with the fantastic sea life of their world.
The Na'vi themselves look amazing as ever in the Avatar 2 trailer, while the new creatures and settings are absolutely astonishing in the trailer. On top of those assets, the rendering of the water really drives home how great the effects are. Both the underwater and surface shots showcase how much Cameron's blend of practical and green screen techniques has paid off. The filmmaker is more accustomed than most to shooting in a water-filled set, having directed The Abyss and Titanic. The Avatar 2 trailer shows the movie building on Cameron's work in those two films, creating even greater visual effects magic in the process.
The original Avatar was set mainly in the vast forests of Pandora, with some other settings like towering cliffsides and flying mountains. These effects were ahead of their time and still hold up incredibly well. Avatar 2 had an even greater challenge in bringing to life the sea-faring world and story Cameron had envisioned, and even the brief first trailer makes clear that his goal was fully achieved.
With the trailer online, to be viewed outside of a movie theater setting, the upcoming Avatar sequel has the ball rolling on selling the return to Pandora as worth the wait. The rest of the movie's marketing will likely have little heavy lifting to do in this respect with how strong of an impression the trailer has made, alongside the Avatar sequel's huge box office prospects. Cameron has put every bit of hype possible behind the Avatar sequels, and with the trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, they're already off to a strong start in surpassing Avatar's visual effects legacy.
