Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5 will each have its own standalone story centered on the Sully family, it has been revealed. James Cameron’s groundbreaking Avatar became the all-time box office champ when it was released back in 2009. Avengers: Endgame later surpassed the movie’s gross, until a China re-release allowed Cameron’s epic to again edge into the #1 spot.
But of course the huge success of the original Avatar is old news by now. Cameron indeed has long been ready to move beyond the film’s cutting-edge sci-fi vision by unleashing not one but four sequels, all of which promise to push the envelope of movie technology further than ever before. Unfortunately delays of various kinds have kept pushing back the arrival of Avatar 2, leaving fans having to wait ever longer for their highly-anticipated return to the mystical moon Pandora.
Further information about Avatar 2 and the other sequels has unfortunately been hard to come by in recent months, outside of BTS images and the odd bit of casting news. But today’s CinemaCon presentation from Disney finally revealed some new details about Cameron’s forthcoming films. Producer Jon Landau appeared at the panel to reveal that each of the new Avatar movies will feature its own standalone story with its own conclusion, but that the movies will still connect to form a larger saga. Landau also says that the films all revolve around the family of earthling Jake Sully and his Na’vi mate Neytiri. And, unsurprisingly, the movies will all be released exclusively in theaters.
Indeed it’s previously been teased that the children of Jake and Neytiri will take center-stage in the new Avatar films. It’s also been made known that Avatar 2 will bring in a new reef world environment on Pandora, introducing waterborne Na’vi who have evolved to live in the oceans. Realizing the sequels’ underwater action was indeed a major challenge for Cameron and his actors, including Kate Winslet, who famously learned to hold her breath longer than Tom Cruise in order to perform her role as the water-dwelling alien Ronal. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana of course are back for the Avatar sequels as unlikely lovers Jake and Neytiri, with child actors Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton and Trinity Bliss as their three kids.
Clearly Cameron has a sweeping epic in mind as he returns to the world of Pandora for four more movies that introduce all-new alien environments and focus on a multi-generational saga. But of course there are no guarantees that even one more Avatar movie will produce the kind of box office numbers Disney and company are hoping for, let alone a quartet of them. This being the case, it’s probably wise that Cameron is approaching each film as a standalone with its own conclusion, in case it becomes necessary for him to cut his saga short. As for the prospect of Avatar finishing up its life on streaming, it seems Cameron is not interested in this prospect, as it’s being made clear that Avatar 2 and the other sequels are going to get theatrical-only releases. But of course that plan can change too, as audiences will have the final call as to whether Pandora is still a compelling place to visit over a decade after their first memorable excursion to that fictional world.
