Producer Jon Landau recently revealed that filming of Avatar 4 is surprisingly far along. The original Avatar was released in 2009, the science-fiction adventure stunned audiences with its striking visuals and epic storytelling that resonated with moviegoers around the world. Following an impressive run in theaters, the film accumulated over $2.8 billion at the box office making it the highest-grossing film of all time. After 13 years, director James Cameron finally brings the beautiful planet of Pandora back to the big screen with four sequels, the first being Avatar: The Way of the Water which lands in theaters on December 16.
Although Avatar 4 is set to release in theaters in December 2026, filming began in 2017 along with the rest of the sequels. The movie was written by James Cameron and Armageddon co-writer, Shane Salerno. Avatar 4 will see the return of Sam Worthington as Jake Sulley, Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, and Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch. Sigourney Weaver has also returned to the franchise, but in a new role as a young child.
Per Variety, Landau revealed that Avatar 4 has already filmed a significant amount of the movie. The producer shared that Cameron and his crew have finished nearly all of the first act of Avatar 4 with much of the remaining movie "designed." This suggests that Avatar 4 is being filmed nearly in chronological order, something that is not typical for movie productions. Read what Landau said below:
“We’ve completed most of the first act of ‘Avatar 4’ and there were logistical reasons why we needed to do that. We’ve designed most of the whole movie for ‘Avatar 4’ but we haven’t actually filmed all of it – just the first act.”
Will Avatar 4 Be Finished In Time?
Having much of the first act of Avatar 4 completed, a film releasing in four years is surprising, even when previously announced that all the Avatar sequels would begin production at the same time. With Cameron writing and planning these films for so long, it is understandable that he would get as much done as early as possible. It is also likely that due to the fact that these films are visual effects-heavy, Cameron needs the time to complete scenes that are incredibly complex.
With all the Avatar sequels release dates revealed, Cameron is under a lot of pressure to deliver his films on time. As visual effects companies are pushed to their limits, causing significant delays for big-budget films, such as Black Adam, Cameron would need as much time as possible to allow for Avatar's computer graphics intensive scenes to be completed. With Avatar 4 years away and production starting years prior, it is likely that the film will meet its target release.
Source: Variety
