In a time when movie sequels are usually coming out every two to three years, it's hard to believe that the follow-up to 2009's Avatar still hasn't arrived yet. Director James Cameron has been spending a lot of time working on the stories for Avatar 2 and its three successors at once, but it appears production will finally begin later this year. In the meantime, Sam Worthington has read the script already, and he's excited for what's coming up.
While speaking with We've Got This Covered, Sam Worthington, who plays main protagonist Jake Sully, noted that Avatar 2's production will kick off this summer, but more importantly, he delved into how the new sequel will explore Jake's new life as a family man...or rather, family Na'vi. He detailed:
I've read all the scripts, they're great. This is going to be Jake eight years later, and he's got a family now. This film is going to be like nothing you've ever seen. The world is bigger than the first one, but essentially, it's a movie about family. Jake will still have that essence of a kid seeing the world for the first time, but he's been living in the world for a while now, so what's this world he's seeing now for the first time? The film will explore that within this family dynamic.
James Cameron mentioned last September that the Avatar sequels would follow Jake and Neytiri as they raised their children, calling them a "family saga." Now Sam Worthington has confirmed that not only will almost the same amount of time have passed for these fictional characters as it has for us, but that Jake will still be discovering new things as a Na'vi. In case you've forgotten, Avatar ended with Jake transferring his consciousness into the Avatar body permanently. Since then, he's been living with the alien race as one of their own, but there are a lot of mysteries on Pandora he hasn't uncovered yet.
This also isn't the first time we've heard praise directed towards the Avatar sequel scripts. Back in December, Sigourney Weaver, who plays Dr. Grace Augustine, complimented the stories for their "scope," and said that since James Cameron had taken care of the "heavy lifting" in the first movie, he would have a lot more room to "play" in future installments. The first Avatar definitely felt cookie cutter with its Dances With Wolves-type story, so learning more about how family will drive Avatar 2 and the other movies makes the continuing franchise sound more novel and unique.
Avatar 2 is expected to be released in theaters on December 21, 2018, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates. Also, if you find yourself at Disney World this summer, you can experience a taste of what Pandora has to offer in the Pandora: The World of Avatar attraction.
