Back in the winter holiday season of 2009, something happened that changed the entertainment landscape forever - for better or worse, depending on who you ask. James Cameron's Avatar was unleashed into theaters and would go on to smash box office records left and right, eventually becoming the first movie ever to hit more than $2 billion. Cameron would surpass his own long-held record of highest-grossing film of all time (which he accomplished with Titanic) and Avatar would wear the crown until Avengers: Endgame toppled it off the throne a decade later. But after only a year, a brief re-release would put Avatar back on top.
The film was a groundbreaking achievement of filmmaking techniques and technology. Filmed with outstanding motion capture and other digital effects, the massive success of Avatar led to a boom in 3D movies at the theater and showed the world what decades of work (and a whole lot of money) could achieve. Even now, the film's effects still manage to dazzle and capture the imagination. It's undeniably impressive.
While 3D movies have since died back down, it's looking like Cameron will be bringing them back into popularity once again. The first trailer for the sequel, over a decade in the making, is now finally here. Avatar: The Way of Water marks the first of four planned sequels, which will steadily come out until 2028. Cameron has been filming all of them back to back, with The Way of Water acting as yet another groundbreaking display of technology. The reason this first sequel has taken so long is due to the fact that Cameron and his team had to development new technology yet again. Since much of the film takes place underwater, performance capture tech needed to be upgraded to operate in those conditions. The results look remarkable.
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Directed by James Cameron and produced by 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 and Kate Winslet.
Check out the breathtaking teaser trailer below, and return to the lush moon of Pandora and the Na'vi.
'Avatar: The Way of Water' comes to theaters December 16th 2022.
