Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 have finally gotten off of the ground and have been a huge project for James Cameron and co. over the last several months. We already know the movie is bringing back some original characters, as well as has added at least 7 new characters into the mix, and this week at CineEurope, Cameron revealed some new details about the project, which is finally in production and coming together. Chief among these notes: Zoe Saldana has already finished her workload for Avatar 2 and Avatar 3.
While Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 were shot back-to-back, the Avatar franchise is muddying the waters in even more ways, and Cameron has previously noted to io9 he is having some actors work on Avatar 2 one day and then Avatar 3 the next day and vice versa. He said:
One day I'll be working on scenes from two, the next day I'll be working on scenes from three. And the actors come in and go, 'Oh, we're working on three today.'
That back and forth might be challenging from an acting perspective, but it doesn't seem to be holding back production at all. At CineEurope (via Deadline) James Cameron also revealed the movie has already shot 130 days of performance capture for the two sequels. Zoe Saldana finished up her workload Friday, while other actors are still around on the set. During the event, Cameron also confirmed the two sequels will reveal "never before seen parts of Pandora." We learned previously that the movie is shooting a lot of sequences underwater, and underwater capture is being used for those sequences. In fact, Kate Winslet was taught to free dive for those sequences, and this week James Cameron revealed she can hold her breath for 7 minutes these days, which isn't a record, but is still pretty impressive compared to the average human.
With all of these major set pieces as well as a lengthy production involved, Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 look like they are going to be expensive movies for the studio to make. Hopefully, the films will reap rewards for the studio once they actually hit theaters down the line. The original Avatar, which came out way back in 2009, cost $237 million in production, but went on to have the highest box office intake of all time, not adjusted for inflation. Worldwide, Avatar made $2,787,965,087 during its run. It's likely those involved are hoping for a similar trajectory this time around. We'll have to wait and see if the new chances the movies are taking will be enough to pull people in.
Although the release dates for the sequels to the original Avatar have been pushed back before, currently Avatar 2 is set for release on December 18, 2020. It's follow-up, the already-in-the-works Avatar 3, is due out on December 17, 2021. Since we're still smack dab in the middle of 2018, there will be some time to wait, but for now, you can stay tuned in regards to what we know about the movie with our full guide.
