Avatar 2’s Kate Winslet Admits She ‘Lost Track’ Of Which Sequels She Was Filming

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James Cameron is a legendary filmmaker who is known for his vision and groundbreaking cinematography. 2009's Avatar was a massive hit and became the highest grossing movie of all time, and Cameron had been hard at work on the first two sequels. Cameron took up a major task by filming these two massive blockbusters at once, and actress Kate Winslet recently admitted that even she sometimes loses track of how wide the director's vision is.

The Avatar sequels reunited James Cameron with Kate Winslet, many years after the two famously collaborated on Titanic. Winslet will be playing a new Na'vi character Ronal, who is a free-diver from the Metkayina. The project required Winslet to do extensive underwater work, while keeping up with the plot of two different movies. Winslet recently spoke to this particular challenge, saying:

I lost track of how many he is making at once. I did two at once, in tandem with him. All my work was in 2018… It’s an extraordinary experience. You go into this huge aircraft hanger and anything is possible. You want to fly today? You want to do some spear fighting underwater? Sure, we’ll do it. It was wonderful for me to be a part of such a well-oiled machine, with such great artists and technicians.

Well, that was honest. James Cameron is planning a five-film franchise for the Avatar films, with Kate Winslet expected to play a major role in the upcoming four sequels. And while she's been treated to scripts and has already filmed two appearances using motion capture technology, the Oscar winning actress admits even she can't always keep track of the filmmaker's plans for the future.

Kate Winslet's comments from WTF with Marc Maron help to peel back the curtain on what it's like actually working on a massive blockbuster like the Avatar franchise. Winslet broke the record for holding her breathe while filming her role, so it was obviously an intense experience. And while she stayed focus on doing her job bringing Ronal to life, Winslet didn't commit to memorizing James Cameron's five-film plan.

The original Avatar movie is currently streaming on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

Movies are typically shot out of order, allowing the schedule and cost of shooting to be optimal. And with James Cameron filming Avatar 2 and 3 simultaneously while also setting the stage for two additional movies, it makes sense that the full franchise' scale might have been a bit muddled on set. Cameron clearly has a very specific vision, so this should presumably all pay off when the projects are completed and make their way to theaters.

Moviegoing audiences have waited over a decade for Avatar 2 to finally arrive. And while anticipation has been buoyed by theme park attractions and the like, fans are eager to finally dive back into Pandora. Although we've still got well over a year until the sequel hits theaters.

Avatar 2 is currently expected to hit theaters on December 16th, 2022. In the meantime, check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.