Almost a decade has passed since we’ve seen the premiere of James Cameron’s Avatar. And that would be alright unless the author wasn’t promised at least two more sequels of the blockbuster. In 9 years of anticipation, fans are bombarding the web with questions like “When does Avatar 2 eventually come out?”, “Will we even get the rest of Avatars someday?”.
Let’s finally answer these questions and reveal the reasons behind such a great delay.
When Should We Get Avatar 2 with 100% Confidence?
The initial release date was scheduled for December 2015. However, Cameron and his team postponed it nearly 3 times and later pledged to deliver it in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Small wonder, in March 2017, producers called off all these dates and confessed that they still didn’t kick off the filming, rescheduling the release to 18 December 2020 once again.
A wave of discontent with such news has poured out into tons of memes and videos like The Evolution of AVATAR 2's Release Date. The video is accompanied by satiric comments like “I can’t wait to see Avatar 2 II in 3045” and “Avatar 2: The longest-awaited sequel since Despacito 2.”
We agree with the fans. The final release in 2020 might be an empty promise again if media haven't reported that Avatar 2 entered the production stage in August 2017.
Some actors from the main cast confirmed the filming is in full swing. Kate Winslet had only “a couple of days of her character shooting remaining” by the end of an April 2018. The female lead Zoe Saldana pointed out that the filming is halfway done in May 2018, finishing her own scenes in June. Lastly, James Cameron announced that the main cast filming was completed on November 14, 2018.
This news gives us hope that we will 100% get Avatar 2 before long. The date of 18 December 2020 is still raising doubts, though.
Taking into account that Avatar 3 and Avatar 4 releases are scheduled for 2021 and 2024, the creators have no fear to delay it again. Such a rushed premiere of Avatar 3 may happen because Cameron filmed both movies simultaneously, as he confessed in his interview with Daily Beast. However, only three years between Avatar 3 and Avatar 4 seem to be suspicious, especially after a decade of waiting for Avatar 2.
The Reasons Behind Such a Great Delay
From the outside perspective, James Cameron isn’t worried much about the sequels of his most successful movie. And even if this was the case, that’s understandable. He is already a director of two highest-grossing films in cinema history. Cameron has already beaten the greatest bar, so his career can’t go any further.
According to the director himself, his intent is the opposite. The script writing took too long because Cameron can’t compromise the quality of such a hit as Avatar. Moreover, he is focusing on the entire picture rather than on a single movie. "My focus is on Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5 equally. That's exactly how I'm approaching it. They've all been developed equally," — said the filmmaker.
Avatar claims to be the 1st 3D movie showed in cinemas worldwide. James wants Avatar 2 to repeat the success of its forerunner in the technical aspect as well. That’s why there are rumors that the next Avatar will be demonstrated in a glasses-free 3D format, what obviously require tons of time and effort to bring it to life.
Also, the team was testing underwater motion-capture technology for about 1.5 years. Cameron states: “Whenever you add water to any problem, it just gets ten times harder.” The attempt succeeded: one scene from Avatar 2 was entirely filmed underwater.
Ubisoft’s Avatar 2 Game is Postponed, Too
The delay of the movie means the delay of the second Avatar game from Ubisoft. The production of the game is totally dependent on the movie, as told by the Ubisoft’s representatives. “The movie will be released end of 2020, so our game won't be released before FY21” — they said.
The team will be working hard on Avatar because they can’t let the release fail. The title will be equipped with the powerful gaming engine, impressive graphics, and likely even a VR regime.
In the meantime, we still have Ubisoft’s first Avatar game. However, it was released in 2009 and may not satisfy some demanding gamers due to its outdated mechanics and low-grade animation.
The problem is, we not only lack a quality game from other devs to substitute Ubisoft’s title, we don’t have decent Avatar mini games so far. The only worthy game is an Avatar slot machine designed by IGT. Compared to others, it demonstrates the immersive graphics and a stunning soundtrack. So if you don’t mind gambling, you can go to any IGT casino and try it. For those of you who don’t enjoy games of chance, we recommend you to take patience and watch something else similar to Avatar.
What to Do in the Meantime
Avatar is not a lone-standing title in alien science fiction or a title with a plot revolving on another planet. There are lots of decent analogs to see, starting from Planet of the Apes and finishing new Star Wars trilogy. Here is our top-5 to watch meanwhile:
1. Franklin J. Schaffner: Planet of the Apes (1968)
2. Robert Zemeckis: Contact (1997)
3. Ridley Scott: Prometheus (2012)
4. Christopher Nolan: Interstellar (2014)
5. Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby: The Expanse (2015 TV series)
Talking about games, we recommend trying these sci-fi titles released after 2014:
1. Firaxis Games, Feral Interactive: XCom 2 (Turn-based tactics)
2. Edios Montreal, Feral Interactive: Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (Action, Stealth)
3. Croteam: The Talos Principle (Puzzle)
The movies and games above will put color to forthcoming years of waiting. But what to do if you don’t want any substitutes, but beset with nostalgia? Well, there is only one option for you: learn Na’vi!
