Avatar: The Way of Water trailer brings us closer to a mighty heartbeat

[Karlston]

"We cannot let you bring your war here."

James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water has an official trailer.

Director James Cameron has spent more than a decade making the first of a planned four sequels to his 2009 blockbuster film Avatar. We got our first peek at the first of those sequels, Avatar: The Way of Water, in May with a brief, visually stunning teaser that showcased Cameron's undisputed skill at world-building. Yet despite enthusiasm for the visuals, the overall response was fairly muted. Perhaps more audience excitement for the upcoming film will emerge now that we have the full official trailer.

 

As we've reported previously, Cameron wrote a treatment for Avatar way back in 1994, and it was supposed to be the director's next big project after he wrapped his blockbuster Titanic. But Cameron realized the technology did not yet exist to make the film he envisioned. He spent several years working to develop what he needed, including a cutting-edge virtual camera system to direct the motion-capture scenes. (He compared it to "a big, powerful game engine.")

 

The finished film set new box office records upon its release; it was the highest-grossing film until Avengers: Endgame briefly took the top spot in 2019. (A March 2021 Chinese rerelease put Avatar back on top.) Critics were mostly positive, praising the technological achievements, although some pointed out that the storytelling suffered. Cameron also consulted with multiple scientists while designing the world of Pandora (a moon orbiting a gas giant exoplanet called Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri A system). Avatar was nominated for nine Oscars, ultimately winning Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.

 

Even before Avatar's release, Cameron expressed his hope of making two sequels, widening the story's scope to include other moons of Polyphemus. The first would feature Pandora's ocean and involve shooting footage at the bottom of the Mariana Trench with a deepwater submersible. But once again, he needed technology that didn't exist yet—namely, for filming motion capture scenes underwater.

 

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) passing some useful skills down to his offspring

YouTube/20th Century Studios

 

Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana are reprising their roles as Jake Sully and Neytiri, respectively. Jake decided to meld with his avatar permanently at the end of the first film so he could be with Neytiri and start a family on Pandora. Per the 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."

 

Jamie Flatters, Britain Dalton, and Trinity Bliss play the pair's three children (Neteyam, Lo-ak, and Tuk), while Jack Champion plays a teen named Spider, who was born on the human base and is rescued and adopted by the couple. Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine), Stephen Lang (Colonel Miles Quaritch), and Matt Gerald (Corporal Lyle Wainfleet) will also be returning, despite all three of their characters having died in the original. And CCH Pounder returns as Mo'at, Neytiri's mother and the Omaticaya clan's spiritual leader.

 

This new trailer doesn't give us much more in the way of plot specifics, but Cameron has always known how to tell a compelling story. We do know that the Sully clan will be forced to leave their home when humans stir up trouble again on Pandora. That leads them to seek refuge with an underwater tribe of Na'vi, who are initially reluctant to accept the newcomers, lest they bring "their war" to this other tribe. The trailer shows the Scully family adjusting to their new environs despite some tension at being "outcasts." But another clash with humans is inevitable.

 

Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters on December 16, 2022. Avatar 3 (filmed simultaneously with The Way of Water) is scheduled for a December 20, 2024 release.

 

Listing image by YouTube/20th Century Studios

 

 

Avatar: The Way of Water trailer brings us closer to a mighty heartbeat