Movies - Avatar: The Way of the Water: Discover the first trailer

By Mulder, 09 may 2022

The title of the first Avatar sequel - to be released on December 14 in France - is Avatar: the way of water.  Directed by James Cameron, produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi and Kate Winslet. To immerse the audience in the world of Pandora, the studio will re-release Avatar in theaters on September 21 in France.

This is the second film in Cameron's Avatar franchise, following Avatar (2009). Cameron is producing the film with Jon Landau, with Josh Friedman originally announced as Cameron's co-writer; it was later announced that Cameron, Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Shane Salerno were involved in the writing process for all sequels before being assigned separate scripts, making the eventual writing credits unclear. [Cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder and Matt Gerald reprise their roles from the original film, with Sigourney Weaver returning in a different role. New cast members include Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, Vin Diesel and CJ Jones.

James Cameron, who said in 2006 that he would like to make sequels to Avatar if it was successful, announced the first two sequels in 2010 following the wide success of the first film, The Way of the Water aiming for a 2014 release. However, the addition of three more sequels (to the first) and the need to develop new technology to film underwater performance capture scenes, a feat never accomplished before, led to significant delays to allow the team more time to work on writing, pre-production and visual effects. [Preliminary filming for the movie began in Manhattan Beach, California on August 15, 2017, followed by principal photography simultaneously with Avatar 3 in New Zealand on September 25, 2017. Filming ended in late September 2020, after more than three years of shooting, although production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Set more than a decade after the events chronicled in the first film, Avatar: The Way of the Water tells the story of the members of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their children), the trials they face, the paths they must take to protect each other, the battles they must fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure.

The film's theatrical release has been postponed eight times, most recently on July 23, 2020, and is currently scheduled for release on December 16, 2022, with the next three sequels to be released on December 20, 2024, December 18, 2026, and December 22, 2028, respectively.

Synopsis :
Jake Sully and Neytiri have become parents. The plot takes place about ten years after the events told in the original feature film. Their idyllic life, close to nature, is threatened when the Resources Development Administration, a dangerous non-governmental organization, returns to Pandora. Forced to leave their natural habitat, Jake and his family travel to the reefs, where they think they will find sanctuary. But they come across a clan, the Metkayina, whose ways are different from their own...

Avatar: The Way of Water
Directed by James Cameron
Screenplay by James Cameron, Josh Friedman
Story by James Cameron
Based on Characters by James Cameron
Produced by James Cameron, Jon Landau
Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Kate Winslet
Cinematography : Russell Carpenter
Edited by David Brenner, James Cameron, John Refoua, Stephen E. Rivkin
Music by Simon Franglen
Production company : Lightstorm Entertainment
Distributed by 20th Century Studios
Release date : December 14, 2022 (France), December 16, 2022 (USA)

(Source : Press release)