Disney’s 20th Century Studios has released the official trailer and poster for Avatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron’s highly-anticipated, first follow-up to his Academy Award-winning Avatar. Avatar: The Way of Water opens in theaters on December 16.
In celebration of the trailer and poster launch for Avatar: The Way of Water, a stunning light show of massive proportions featuring highlights from the film will be projected tonight over Niagara Falls.
With Avatar: The Way of Water, the cinematic experience reaches new heights as Cameron transports audiences back to the magnificent world of Pandora in a spectacular and stirring action-packed adventure.
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.
Following Avatar: The Way of Water, the third installment, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, will be released on December 20, 2024. Then Avatar: The Tulkun Rider and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa are coming to theaters on December 18, 2026, and December 22, 2028, respectively.
Total Film previously talked to producer Jon Landau, who revealed more of the sequel’s plot. “I think the story of Avatar 2, and the strength of the story, is what Jim [Cameron] always does in any of his movies: he writes in universal themes that are bigger than any one genre,” said Landau.
“And if you think about this, there’s really no more universal theme than family. At the center of each of our sequels is the Sully family. What are the dynamics that parents go through to protect their family?”
The magazine added that the Sullys’ life is disrupted when the RDA mining operation returns to Pandora, forcing Jake to take the family to “what is perceived as a safe harbor” at the reef.
“And when you get to the reef, there’s a clan we call the Metkayina,” continued Landau. The Sullys are no longer in the environment that they know, the rainforest. They become fish out of water, both from a cultural standpoint and from an environmental standpoint.”
Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, and Trinity Bliss play the Young members of the Sully family, while Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo, and Duane Evans Jr. play the members of the Metkayina Clan.
Jack Champion is playing Javier “Spider” Socorro, a human teenager born at Hell’s Gate, but who prefers his time in the Pandoran rainforest to the asphalt of Hell’s Gate.
The Avatar sequels are produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau through their Lightstorm Entertainment. The James Cameron-directed sequels are written by Cameron along with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, and Shane Salerno.
The first film was released in theaters on December 18, 2009, and still ranks as the top-grossing movie of all time worldwide with $2.923 billion. It was briefly passed up by Avengers: Endgame ($2.798 billion) in 2019 until a Chinese re-release saw Avatar retake the top spot in March 2021.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.