‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
Years after the first film, the sequel to ‘Avatar’ comes to theaters
Stella Schneider / Asst. A&C Editor / The USD Vista
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is set to premiere in theaters on Dec. 16, exactly 13 years after the original movie, “Avatar,” was released in Dec. 2009 and director James Cameron has talked about the sequel since the release of the initial movie. After a limited screening of “Avatar” in Los Angeles, Cameron hinted to the crowd, “Yes, there’ll be another.”
“Avatar” has held the title as highest-grossing film since its initial release, with a lifetime grossing of $2.9 billion. Its popularity has had many craving the sequel for years, and now that it’s being released, questions linger about whether it will have a good reception in theaters. “Avatar: The Way of Water” is projected to open in theaters at $150 million-$170 million.
USD junior Noah Schliesman talked about his opinion of the “Avatar” franchise.
“I’d probably go see the new movie in theaters with my friends when it comes out,” Schliesman said. “The first one was literally life-changing as a kid, so I want to see if [the sequel] actually lives up to the hype.”
“Avatar: The Way of Water” focuses on the story of the Sully family, highlighting their connection, the trouble and tragedies that follow them and their ability to endure challenges and life together.
The sequel will pick up the Sully family’s story about 13 years after the first movie, introducing audiences to Jake [Sam Worthington] and Ney’tiri’s [Zoe Saldaña] new family.
USD sophomore Cheyanne Gates reflected on the new “Avatar” story coming to theaters.
“I feel like it’s unexpected to have a sequel after so many years, but I think it’s really cool for fans to see the Avatar world again,” Gates expressed.
These movies require an expensive level of technology for the motion capture and filming in 3-D. Because of this, their cost of production is extremely high — in both the original and the sequel.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” needs to earn over $2 billion dollars to make a profit due to its costly production.
The original movie had an extravagant budget as well, allowing the underwater motion capture and crazy visuals audiences hadn’t seen before in 2009.
USD junior Bella Patterson recounted her connection to “Avatar.”
“I remember when I first watched ‘Avatar’ as a kid, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Patterson expressed. “Everything about it was so cool — the new world and the way it was filmed. It was the first fantasy movie I saw where it really looked like a real, other world.”
In September of this year, the original “Avatar” returned in theaters for a limited time, in anticipation of the sequel coming out this month. Upon re-release, the first film made $76.5 million on a limited, three-week engagement.
Many fans of “Avatar” only learned about the sequel recently, but it seems Cameron has already begun working on future movies for the franchise.
Sam Worthington returned to his role as Jake Sully in the sequel, and went on “The Tonight Show,” discussing the future of the “Avatar” franchise saying, “about 80, 90 percent” of “Avatar 3” has been shot. Worthington added that because the child actors were aging out, “a few scenes” of “Avatar 4” have also been filmed.
Schliesman continued to share his opinions of the Avatar franchise.
“It’s so weird that they are coming back with so many [Avatar movies] after so long without them. Like why didn’t he make them sooner? Everyone loved the first one.”
Acknowledging the concerns, James Cameron is prepared to end the “Avatar” series after the third film if the newest sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” isn’t profitable.
However, with such a franchise-driven entertainment industry, the “Avatar” franchise likely has a few more movies to flesh out this science fiction world.
Many anticipate the new movie arriving in theaters and how it will live up to the expectations and memories rooted in the original “Avatar” film.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” wil be available in theaters Dec. 16.