There’s officially less than a month left until the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time,Avatar: The Way of Water, releases in theaters. For years now, fans have waited anxiously to set foot back on Pandora once again and follow more of Jake and Neytiri’s story. In the 13 years since the original film, things have changed drastically with the two forming a family together and trying to make things work. With a familiar threat on the rise though, they’re forced to relocate and take the fight back up against the encroaching human threat. A new trailer builds up that conflict and the stakes at risk in the return toJames Cameron’s epic sci-fi world.
The new footage shows more of the highly anticipated return to Pandora, reuniting audiences with the Sully family and all of the trouble that follows them. There’s no shortage of high-flying action, deep-sea dives, and the sparks of romance and familial connections that make Cameron’s world so compelling.
The Way of Wateris heavily expanding on the world of Pandora with a heavy focus on marine life and the native Metkayina tribe. It’s all part of Cameron’s plans to create a truly massive world to revisit throughout its multiple sequels in the upcoming years. In aprevious interview with Empire, the director drew parallels toThe Lord of the Ringsand the expansive stories illustrated acrossJ.R.R. Tolkien’s novels. With a massive runtime of over three hours, the film is expected to take its time acquainting audiences with the aquatic life seen throughout teasers and sewing the seeds for a grand storyline spanning the four sequels.
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More Background onAvatar: The Way of Water
Besides Worthington and Saldaña,The Way of Waterwill see a slew of cast members returning from the first film, includingMatt Gerald,Joel David Moore,CCH Pounder,Dileep Rao,GiovanniRibisi,Stephen Lang, andSigourney Weaverin a new role. For Cameron’s second outing in Pandora, however, the already high-profile cast has expanded to further heights withKate Winslet,Cliff Curtis,Edie Falco,Michelle Yeoh,Jemaine Clement,Oona Chaplin, andVin Dieselall coming aboard.
With the talented cast combined with Cameron’s pedigree and the hype surrounding the return ofAvatarafter over a decade away,The Way of Wateris looking at another massive return for all involved. Already, evidence is suggesting a historic turnout for the long-awaited sequel witha recent Fandango surveyconcluding that the sequel is the most anticipated film for Gen-Z this holiday season, beating out other cinematic titans likeDamien Chezelle’sBabylonand Disney’sStrange World. Moreover, the original trailer for the film It’ll have a long way to go to even sniff the original film’s unimaginable heights of $2.905 billion at the box office, but everything shown so far has created an air of optimism around the future of the franchise and its commercial success.
Avatar: The Way of Waterpremieres in theaters on December 16. Check out the new trailer below.
