The Avatar sequels have been many years in the making, and they are closer than they have ever been to actually being in front of fans. James Cameron’s films are doing some exciting things, such as bringing in new actors like Michelle Yeoh. However, they'll also bring back stars from the first film like Sigourney Weaver, who was drawn to the franchise by the emotional stories Cameron is able to tell. Now, Stephen Lang, who is also returning for Avatar 2 despite his on-screen death, has shared his emotional reaction after reading all of the scripts for all of the Avatar sequels.
While speaking to Collider about his new film Don’t Breathe 2, Stephen Lang was asked about the sequels to Avatar and, as you would expect, he didn't give away any plot details or specific information. Despite this, Stephen Lang recalled having an emotional experience while reading James Cameron's scripts, saying:
When I finished the last script, I was weeping. I just thought it was so beautiful. Yeah, the final script because he's telling a great, great story, an original story, a beautiful, beautiful story, and I was just incredibly moved by it. I hope and I trust and believe that audiences will be, too, because one of the things that he does really, really well is he moves it from the page to the stage in a way that that is very literal. You know what I mean? You really see it. What you read is what you get from him, I think, and more.
If Stephen Lang says the scripts for the Avatar sequels left him “weeping," then we're definitely in for a visceral experience. James Cameron does have a knack for telling emotional stories that don’t get lost in the giant blockbuster nature of his movies. The emotion found in Cameron’s films usually drive all the effects, action and whatever new technology he's showing off. All in all, it seems the Avatar sequels are not only going to be bigger and better than the original but even more emotionally effective.
After hearing Stephen Lang's comments on the Avatar sequels, it's honestly not hard to see why James Cameron is able to draw in talented stars for the movies like Kate Winslet, who has worked with Cameron before. And let's not forget that over the course of his illustrious career, Cameron has also worked with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Zoe Saladana and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Still, even an Oscar-winning director has to keep on his game. James Cameron has talked about the different pressures that have come with making sequels to a mega-hit like Avatar. Doing something different and pushing the franchise forward, while retaining what made the first film special, is quite the challenge, one that actually almost made Cameron fire his entire writer’s room.
But if anyone has the ability to meet such great expectations, it should be James Cameron. And with the Avatar films having been in the works for years now, one would imagine that he's put a lot of thought and care into how he wants to continue the story of Sam Worthington's Jake Sully and Zoe Saldana's Neytiri. You can catch the first of Cameron's sequels, Avatar 2, when it hits theaters on December 16, 2022.
