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Avatar 2 Is Set At Least Eight Years After The Original

Avatar 2 Is Set At Least Eight Years After The Original

Director James Cameron has revealed some details about the long-anticipated sequel

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

Ordinarily, if a film does well in the box office, a sequel is turned around in the next few years. When Avatar was released in 2009, it became the highest-grossing film of all time, yet here we are still waiting for the sequel.

This is in part due to the epic nature of making an Avatar film, and in part due to the fact director, James Cameron, is making the second and third instalment at the same time.

Now, the Oscar-winner has revealed that Avatar 2 will be set at least eight years on from the original. This isn't really much of a forward leap though, when you consider we'll all be 11 years older than when the original came out by the time the sequel hits our screens.

In an interview with Empire, Cameron spilled the beans while discussing a marital dispute between central protagonists Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), which he filmed from the perspective of their eight-year-old daughter... and it doesn't take a brain surgeon who moonlights in rocket science to figure out this means at least some of the film will be set at least eight years on from where we left off.

Jake and Neytiri have an eight-year-old daughter in Avatar 2.
20th Century Fox

Cameron said: "There's a three-page argument scene between Jake and Neytiri, a marital dispute, very, very critical to the storyline.

"I wound up shooting it all from the point of view of the 8-year-old hiding under the structure and peeking in.

"Having gone through the experience with [Sam Worthington] on Avatar, I now knew how to write the Jake character going forward across the emotional rollercoaster of the next four movies. It's been tough on him.

"He's done two pictures back to back now, because we did 2 and 3 together. He had to go to some dark places."

If the 'four movies' part of that quote caught you off guard, let us explain.

Plans for a fourth and fifth film were announced in 2017, but a merger between Disney and Fox could cast doubt over their production.

CinemaBlend said the fourth and fifth movies were actually never certain to happen in the first place. They claim that Fox initially wanted to wait and see how two and three do at the box office before giving the green light to a further two movies, which seems pretty logical really.

When the merger is complete, the responsibility for this decision will rest on the Disney's shoulders, which, according to Geek Tyrant, could be good news for Cameron, as Walt Disney World is home to the Pandora - The World of Avatar theme park. So you'd think they're pretty keen on the franchise.

One thing that is for certain is that Avatar 2 is set to premiere on 18 December 2020, and Avatar 3 will release a year later on 17 December 2021... So not long to wait now, relatively speaking.

Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Fox

Topics: Animation, Entertainment, TV and Film,