The big question leading up to Disney’s 2022 CinemaCon presentation at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas was whether they’d screen any footage from Avatar 2. The distribution of 3D glasses on the way into the presentation and the much-anticipated sequel’s appearance in ads above the Forum doors alongside Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Bob’s Burgers Movie, and Lightyear were good indications we’d finally see something from James Cameron’s return to Pandora.
Fortunately, Disney did deliver the first teaser trailer for the second Avatar film. However, the studio drew out the suspense by waiting until the final minutes of the hour and a half presentation to show off the first glimpse of James Cameron’s first of four planned Avatar sequels.
Producer Jon Landau was on hand to introduce the teaser trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water (the new official title) which will premiere exclusively in theaters on May 6th with the Doctor Strange sequel. The teaser won’t appear online until after its theatrical debut.
Landau revealed the original Avatar, with remastered picture and sound, will be re-released in theaters on September 23, 2022. And he confirmed the four upcoming sequels will focus on the Sully family. Landau, noting Cameron’s scripts are always universal and feature relatable themes, said, “And there’s no more relatable theme down at the center of each of our four sequels than the Sully family – Jake and Neytiri’s family.”
Landau also explained the four planned sequels will each play out as standalone films, with each movie telling its own story and coming to a conclusion. “However, when you look at that as a whole, the journey across all four movies will create an even larger, connected, epic saga,” explained Landau.
James Cameron was busy getting Avatar: The Way of Water finished in time for its December 16th release, but he did send along a video message for CinemaCon attendees. Cameron acknowledged the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on theater owners and assured the National Association of Theatre Owners members in attendance that he and Jon Landau are ready to work with them to deliver a product worthy of getting people excited about returning to theaters.
Cameron believes the original Avatar, released in 2009, pushed the limits of the big screen. “With the new Avatar films, we’re pushing those limits even farther with 3D, with high dynamic range, with high frame rate, higher resolution, and a much greater reality in our visual effects,” he explained.
James Cameron described reuniting with Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang to further explore Pandora as an amazing adventure. Their goal is to make the return to Pandora something really special.
All the shots were designed for the biggest screens possible, according to Cameron. “We set out once again to push the limits of what cinema can do and I think we pulled it off,” explained Cameron.
The teaser trailer was absolutely gorgeous and the colors exploded off the screen, with the world feeling even more real than the original Avatar. Dolby’s 3D glasses helped transport the audience to Pandora in an incredibly immersive way.
Given that it was merely a teaser, there wasn’t much revealed about the new environment or new characters in Avatar: The Way of Water. Yet what was shown was enough to remind us why Avatar stands as the highest-grossing film in history.
Avatar: The Way of Water Official Synopsis:
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.
