When a movie performs as impressively commercially as Avatar did in 2009, it's not surprising to learn soon after that a sequel is on the way. Director James Cameron decided to take that many steps further and announce three more follow-ups after that, taking the Avatar saga all the way to a fifth movie. Seven years later, though, Avatar 2 still has yet to be released in theaters. Most recently, it was been implied that the sequel could finally arrive in late 2018, but if that's the case, Sigourney Weaver, who played Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar, has doubts the movie will be ready by then.
Late last month, 20th Century Fox scheduled an untitled film from Lightstorm Entertainment to be released on December 21, 2018, and many suspect this is Avatar 2. However, while speaking to THR, Sigourney Weaver clarified that the sequel still isn't that far along. The actress said:
We haven't started it, so I don't know how realistic that date is, but I think it's going to be very exciting.
Assuming that this Lightstorm Entertainment movie is supposed to be Avatar 2, that leaves just a little over two years for essentially the entire development process to unfold. Even if James Cameron has spent the last seven years perfecting the visual effects for the Avatar franchise, they still need to shoot this movie and dedicate plenty of time for post-production. For a standard blockbuster, two years is more than long enough to complete everything, but for a project as effects-heavy as an Avatar flick, it's surprising that work hasn't kicked off yet. That's not to say Avatar 2 couldn't be completed by late 2018, but as Sigourney Weaver said, it's questionable whether it will be realistic to pull off.
Whether Avatar 2 will make this still-unconfirmed release date is the latest question surrounding the movie. No official plot details have been disclosed about any of the new movies other than James Cameron confirming that they will follow Jake Sully, Neytiri and their children. Despite Christine Augustine dying in, Sigourney Weaver will return for the sequel, although in what capacity remains to be seen. Weaver did recently read the next three Avatar sequel scripts and found them "many times more amazing than the first one in terms of their scope," specifically because Cameron was able to lay enough groundwork in the first movie to have more fun with the others. She isn't the only actor returning for more Avatar movies despite their character dying, as Stephen Lang, who played Colonel Miles Quaritch, is also confirmed to jump back into the fray.
We here at CinemaBlend will keep you apprised on how Avatar 2 is progressing as more news comes in, but let us know if you think if the sequel can make this December 21, 2018 release date in the comments below.
