Avatar: The Way of Water released a new trailer that offers up a lot of new reveals and questions going into the last few months before the movie's release. Avatar: The Way of Water is once again directed by James Cameron and is the first of four planned Avatar sequels. The movie is scheduled to open on December 16, 2022, with the latest trailer likely being the last full one before the release.
While the first trailer looked beautiful, it offered little in the way of the overall plot reveals about the film. This second trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water features a lot of different aspects that hint at both the future of the franchise and the plot of this specific film. From hints of Jake and Neytiri's family to the breathtaking CGI on display alongside the villainous aspects of the film and Avatar: The Way of Water's overall story, the second trailer features plenty of reveals and raises many questions about Cameron's upcoming sequel.
James Cameron’s Underwater World Of Pandora Comes To Life
The opening shots of the new Avatar: The Way of Water trailer provide insight into the movie's title in terms of its underwater scenery. Since the onset of production, James Cameron has been adamant about the sequel's exploration of the aquatic tribes of Pandora. The official trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water showcases exactly where the title comes from. Opening with a group of the Metkayina (Pandora's aquatic people) diving underwater, the trailer showcases the true beauty of James Cameron's underwater world. From the beautiful original designs of the underwater creatures to the sheer volume of aquatic animals and the amount of care and attention clearly put into crafting the depths of Pandora, the official trailer proves the movie will deliver on its subtitle in more ways than one.
Avatar 2 Will Flashback To Neytiri’s Pregnancy
The first shot of Neytiri in the latest trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water is likely a flashback to the time spent between the first and second films, as she is shown to be pregnant. It is widely known that Neytiri was pregnant at the very end of Avatar, meaning this scene could take place mere months after the end of the first movie. However, as Jake and Neytiri have three biological Na'vi children and one adopted, alongside a human son, in the Avatar sequel, this scene could be at any point in the 14-year gap between Avatar and the sequel. Regardless of when the scene takes place, it is at least clear that Avatar: The Way of Water will feature flashbacks to this time, including one if not all of Neytiri's pregnancies.
Hints Of Sigourney Weaver’s New Avatar 2 Character
Both James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver confirmed during the production of Avatar: The Way of Water that the latter will return to the franchise despite her character's death in the first movie. Since then, it has been revealed that Weaver will play a new character: Jake and Neytiri's adopted daughter Kiri. The second trailer for the Avatar sequel showcases more of Sigourney Weaver's Kiri, from her connection to her surrogate father and her overall importance to the film's plot. The trailer showcases Jake and Kiri sitting above a vibrant pool, with Kiri stating that she knows her father thinks she's crazy and that she can feel "her."
Who Could Kiri Be Talking About?
This begs the question, then, of whom Kiri could be talking about in the Avatar: The Way of Water trailer. There are multiple possibilities for whose presence Kiri feels, with one making more sense than the other. The less logical of the choices is Sigourney Weaver's character from Avatar, Grace Augustine. While Grace was dying in the first movie, Jake and Neytiri attempted to transfer her consciousness permanently to her avatar body, yet the ritual failed and Grace died. Bringing Weaver back as Kiri could mean it is Grace's heartbeat she hears. While it could also be James Cameron capitalizing on both Weaver's talents and the duo's relationship, the sequel could also reveal some type of spiritual connection between Grace and Kiri, with the former being whom the latter feels, further explaining Weaver's return.
On the other hand, the trailer provides evidence that it is in fact Eywa that Kiri is speaking about. Eywa is the deity of Pandora and the Na'vi whose presence was heavily felt in the first movie. Shortly after Kiri's monologue about feeling "her" heartbeat, multiple shots of the seeds of Eywa from Avatar are shown, as well as Kiri seemingly connecting to an underwater version of the Tree of Souls. This could all be hinting at Kiri's connection to the goddess of Pandora in Avatar: The Way of Water, hinting at Avatar's first sequel being worth the wait for not only its visual effects but also for fitting with the themes of the first movie and further exploring Jake's connection to Eywa.
Avatar 2’s CGI Is Breathtaking
Another feature of Avatar: The Way of Water's official trailer is something that has been expected of the sequel since its announcement. As with the first movie, the CGI in Avatar: The Way of Water looks absolutely breathtaking. Given how almost everything in the film is CGI, from the environments to characters to even the water, the visual effects work on display is on another level completely, as was the case with Avatar in 2009. There is not a single moment in the trailer in which anyone could point out a discrepancy in the quality of the CGI or the new underwater technology of Avatar: The Way of Water, which is a testament to the VFX workers and proof that the film will be a visual marvel unlike any other.
Avatar 2’s New RDA Exoskeleton Armor
One thing showcased in the official trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, in terms of its villainous aspect, is the Resources Development Administration (RDA) armor, which is significantly different from the first movie. In the original Avatar, many of the RDA's ground troops were piloting giant, bulky exoskeletons that allowed them to combat the native inhabitants and wildlife of Pandora. In the trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, though, it is revealed that the RDA has new exoskeletons that are much less bulky in design than the first movie. Rather than giant mech suits, the armor in the sequel seems to be much more robotic in design, almost akin to the Na'vi that the RDA is now working with, with sleeker appendages that look as if the pilot is open to the elements as opposed to enclosed like the suits of Avatar.
The Omaticaya’s Home Burns Once Again
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5){kind=avatar}
One of the biggest hints at Avatar: The Way of Water's story so far comes in the second trailer for the movie. Seemingly running parallel with the catalyst for war in the first Avatar, the sequel shows the Omaticaya's home aflame again. One shot in the trailer shows a staggering portion of Pandora's forest environment on fire, overlooked by Jake. The imagery is very similar to the attack on Home Tree from Avatar and likely has the same effect in this movie, pushing Jake and the Omaticaya to war with the RDA and seeking the help of the Metkayina.
A Better Look At Stephen Lang’s Avatar
It was confirmed early in the development of Avatar 2 that Stephen Lang would return as the antagonistic Quaritch as a Na'vi in the Avatar sequels despite the character's death at the end of the first movie. While the teaser released with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness offered the first glimpse of Quaritch in Avatar: The Way of Water, the official trailer shows a much better look at Lang's new avatar. It was confirmed that Quaritch would return as a Recombinant, a Na'vi avatar imprinted with the memories of a soldier. The trailer shows Quaritch as this new type of avatar, offering fans the best look yet of Lang's villain.
What Does Quaritch Crushing The Skull Mean?
The shot in the trailer of Quaritch's avatar shows him crushing a skull with his bare hands, which could mean a lot of potential things for the story of Avatar: The Way of Water. It looks to be about the size of a human skull given the Na'vi's bigger size. If this is the case, it could hint at Quaritch, as a Recombinant in the Avatar sequel, not being a one-dimensional evil like in the first film, and that he holds a grudge against humans for sending him to his death on an inhospitable planet. Or, the skull could be one of the Na'vi — despite looking more human — and hint at Quaritch's continued feud with the people of Pandora and the potentiality of Quaritch's Na'vi being bigger than the natives of Pandora. The skull could also be that of Jake's human body, which was left without consciousness after his transference to his avatar. This would make sense, as Quaritch likely holds a grudge against Jake, and it hints at their further bad blood that is sure to continue in the franchise.
The Metkayina Are Wary Of An Alliance With The Omaticaya
Another big reveal regarding the film's central story comes from the chief of the Metkayina. At one point in the Avatar: The Way of Water trailer, the chief is shown speaking to Jake, whose Na'vi from Avatar may now be chief of the Omaticaya, stating that he cannot allow the latter to involve the Metkayina people in this war. It is likely that, after the RDA retaliates against the Omaticaya, Jake and Neytiri travel to the other tribes of Pandora to gain help like in the first film. One of these is the Metkayina, and it would make sense for the chief of that tribe to not want to involve his people in a war they have had no part in thus far.
Avatar 2's New Na'Vi Romance Calls Back To Jake & Neytiri
The trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water seems to hint at a new romance between the Na'vi in the sequel that calls back to Jake and Neytiri's in the first movie. At one point in the new trailer, one of Jake and Neytiri's children — likely the eldest: Neteyam — states that the only thing the Metkayina see is an outsider. This is responded to by Reya, daughter of the Metkayina's chief, who states "I see you." This is the reference to Jake and Neytiri's relationship in the first Avatar, with this phrase being important in Na'vi relationships. The trailer also hints that this romance could be what brings the two tribes together in Avatar: The Way of Water to go against the returning RDA.
Avatar 2’s The Way Of Water Title Is Better Explained
Outside the better focus on the underwater life of Pandora explored in the first point, the trailer for the first Avatar sequel further explains the meaning behind the subtitle James Cameron went with: The Way of Water. At one point toward the end of the trailer, a monologue can be heard stating the way of water connects all things from before birth to after death. This is accompanied by shots of a baby Na'vi next to a giant sea creature and a dead body floating in the water. This hints that the subtitle will be explored in a much deeper way than simply showing aquatic life on Pandora. Instead, it hints that the title refers to the deeper themes of the film as a whole, and will be intrinsic to the new characters of the Metkayina.
The RDA Have Adapted To Naval Warfare
The final sequence of the new Avatar: The Way of Water trailer showcases another huge war between the Na'vi and the RDA, with hints that the latter have adapted to naval warfare to counter the introduction of the Metkayina. One shot showcases a giant ship akin to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarriers from Marvel's The Avengers that float on the ocean, while also housing vehicles and weaponry equipped for the aquatic war the film is building toward. These naval weapons are shown a few seconds later when a mechanical crab-like suit of armor is shown attacking the Na'vi underwater. It is likely these weapons are piloted like the exoskeletons of the first film, only reconfigured for underwater combat. This is before more giant RDA boats are shown in the trailer as the battleground for the central conflict of Avatar: The Way of Water.