Now that the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron’s 2009 masterpieceAvatar, titledAvatar: The Way of Water,is finally upon us, the renowned filmmaker is opening up about why the follow-up project took so long.
Featuring groundbreaking CGI and visuals for the time,Avatarexplored the fictional world of Pandora, the home world of the primitive Na’vi people and the setting for a battle over the rare resource unobtanium for the space-borne 22nd-century human race. The film was an instant classic, with fans waiting so long for a sequel that many have forgottenwhat happened at the end of the firstAvatarmovie.
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Now that the wait is finally over, Cameron, who many fully expect toexcel at theAvatarsequel like he did onTerminator 2, addressed the lengthy leadup to the sequel during carpet interviews withDeadlineat the world premiere for the film. “First of all, I was doing deep ocean expeditions for a few years. Then we got serious about doing Avatar, we wrote four scripts — that took a couple of years. Then wedesignedthe movies,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is kind of front-load the whole process so that we can drop them into the marketplace a couple of years apart so that once we’re back, we’re back to stay, right? So you can revisit the world and the characters that are in a regular sort of cadence. That’s how the game is played. If you’re creating a consistent world, people want it again and again. So that’s our game plan.”
This long gameplan seems to be on the precipice of proving itself justified, as the original movie saw tremendous success both at the box office and in popular culture, with a tacticalAvatarrerelease also doing phenomenally at the box officeglobally in the leadup to this month’s premiere for the sequel, which looks set to do much the same.Avatarstar Kate Winslet also had words about the project, praising Cameron for his abilities as a set leader. “He’s so good at pulling the actors together and letting them figure it out,” she said to Deadline. “If something doesn’t work, he’ll say, ‘OK, let’s do something else.’ And so, that sense of collaboration was amazing and actually, I think probably more so than I had anticipated.”
While the wait has certainly been a long one on par with the anguish readers of George R.R. Martin experience, all signs seem to indicate that the wait was well worth it, with the brilliant and renowned filmmakerGuillermo del Toro vouching forAvatar: The Way of Waterahead of its public premiere. The lauded filmmaker also noted that seeing the project made him reflect on how long it had been since he’d seen a “MOVIE” movie. Such a strong endorsement from a respected veteran is sure to sway those who weren’t satisfied with taking Cameron’s word for it.
Despite the positive outlook and excitement aboutAvatar: The Way of Waterand other upcoming sequels, some still hold fast to the opinion thatAvatar 2is a bad idea, citing the wide margin and a host of other issues that likely apply to any further follow-ups in the future. Fans will have ample time to judge for themselves if these concerns are justified when the film releases.
Avatar: The Way of Waterwill be released in theaters on 16th December 2022.
