It appears that 2022 will be the year the next Avatar film finally gets released (I'll believe it when I see a trailer). First, I wonder if they will just call it Avatar 2. Or will Cameron get an idea from another one of his sequels and call it Avatars? Or go with the ever popular subtitle, for something like Avatar: Return to Pandora, or Avatar: The Last Airbender. Who knows?

All I've really heard about the sequel(s) is that they will explore some of the ocean's of Pandora, and apparently the main characters have kids now. I'm cool with exploring more of Pandora, which was a highlight of the first film in 3D. Cameron's no stranger to exploring underwater environments in films, so I think he could deliver something as visually exciting as the first film. As for adding kids to the sequels, usually I'm not a fan of the idea as they can often be the weakest part of a sequel (see Legend of Zorro and Mummy Returns).

A lot has been discussed online on whether there is an appetite for more Avatar. After all, the series has mostly been dormant since the release of the first film. Not really any tie-in books, video games, or shows we've come to expect with most blockbuster series these days. The biggest Avatar event over the last few years was the new park at Disney, which is actually pretty spectacular, and was a big hit. I think once the marketing push starts, people will certainly get excited for a new film.

I think the closest comparison I could make would be for the release of Jurassic World, which also surprised people with how successful it was despite having been released over a decade after the last film.

I'm not sure the film will be as successful as the first, and I think 4 sequels seems excessive, but it feels like comic book films and other series that have overstayed their welcome are dominating the box office these days, I'm actually really curious to see what Cameron will deliver for the sequel.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Avatar 2?

> It appears that 2022 will be the year the next Avatar film finally gets
> released (I'll believe it when I see a trailer). First, I wonder if they
> will just call it Avatar 2. Or will Cameron get an idea from another one
> of his sequels and call it Avatars? Or go with the ever popular subtitle,
> for something like Avatar: Return to Pandora, or Avatar: The Last
> Airbender. Who knows?

Avatar: King of the World is my bet.

> All I've really heard about the sequel(s) is that they will explore some
> of the ocean's of Pandora, and apparently the main characters have kids
> now. I'm cool with exploring more of Pandora, which was a highlight of the
> first film in 3D. Cameron's no stranger to exploring underwater
> environments in films, so I think he could deliver something as visually
> exciting as the first film. As for adding kids to the sequels, usually I'm
> not a fan of the idea as they can often be the weakest part of a sequel
> (see Legend of Zorro and Mummy Returns).

Oh God, NOT KIDS. Really??? Fuck. Cameron sucks at dialogue in general, but nothing is worse than when he attempts to write for young people. Yikes.

> A lot has been discussed online on whether there is an appetite for more
> Avatar. After all, the series has mostly been dormant since the release of
> the first film. Not really any tie-in books, video games, or shows we've
> come to expect with most blockbuster series these days. The biggest Avatar
> event over the last few years was the new park at Disney, which is
> actually pretty spectacular, and was a big hit. I think once the marketing
> push starts, people will certainly get excited for a new film.

Was the theme park actually a big hit though? I heard it was a disappointment money wise. Either way, I would LOVE to go, looked awesome.

> I think the closest comparison I could make would be for the release of
> Jurassic World, which also surprised people with how successful it was
> despite having been released over a decade after the last film.

Yeeeeeah but Jurassic Park also had two more sequels after the first before laying dormant for a while. I'm honestly not really sure what comparison there is to Avatar 2 -- a long delayed sequel to the biggest movie ever that almost immediately everyone decided they didn't like anymore, with, as you said, very little in between tie-in-wise to keep the excitement going.

> I'm not sure the film will be as successful as the first, and I think 4
> sequels seems excessive, but it feels like comic book films and other
> series that have overstayed their welcome are dominating the box office
> these days, I'm actually really curious to see what Cameron will deliver
> for the sequel.

> What are your thoughts on the upcoming Avatar 2?

Some random thoughts:

- If Horner was alive, I'd be way more excited. No offense to Franglen, who I think will excel at the job and deliver some fantastic music, but...just is what it is.

- Will Zoe Saldana go down in history as the actress in the most amount of super huge famous money-making movies that ISN'T one of our most well-known actresses? Between this and Marvel, she's been in just a butt load of blockbusters, yet how many people talk about Zoe Saldana the same way they do, I dunno, Kate Winslet? Also, I still have a massive crush on Zoe Saldana. There it is.

- I'm almost more stoked to read the reviews and box office receipts for this movie than actually seeing it. Just so much riding on it, I'm absolutely fascinated. I really like Cameron's movies, really don't like Cameron as a person, so I'm torn between wanting to see another success (can this sequel be called the Biggest Not-Underdog Underdog ever?) or watch him crash and burn.

- I loved Avatar when it came out. Loved loved loved. Even got in a loud argument with a film professor in the middle of class who decided to rag on it (guess what was the only class in film school I failed?). As the years progressed and I watched it more and more, the flaws and faults, which are many, became harder and harder to ignore. I still love many aspects of it; everything looks and sounds just so wonderful, and if you watch it as a drinking game like me and my wife do, where you take a drink every time a line of dialogue stinks, it can be a real barn-burster of deliciousness. But...the time of Avatar kinda passed rather quickly. So huge, then so lambasted, and now...ignored, forgotten, uncared for?

- I was teaching seventh graders today and one of them said they were born in 2009. So half of the most intense, passionate, and avid movie-going audience out there was barely even fucking alive when the first one came out. Um, YIKES. Also, fuck I'm old.

- My ultimate prediction? The movie will do well, but not well enough. Naysayers, just like with the original, will be surprised it's overall better than expected, but overall film-critic community has become so much more antagonistic since 2009 (and loud), that it for sure won't be the Oscar bait of the first. Studio will get very nervous about the other sequels. Third will come out, do even worse, and Cameron will be in a Fantastic Beasts situation.

Will that actually happen? No clue. Might be bigger than Endgame for all we know (hahahahaha probably not, but hey, literally 0.0001% of people thought Avatar would crush Titanic). Very curious to see what happens.

> Avatar: King of the World is my bet.

> Oh God, NOT KIDS. Really??? Fuck. Cameron sucks at dialogue in general,
> but nothing is worse than when he attempts to write for young people.
> Yikes.

Oh come on, John Connor in T2 isn't that bad.

> Was the theme park actually a big hit though? I heard it was a
> disappointment money wise. Either way, I would LOVE to go, looked awesome.

I don't know about financially. But Disney parks have been exceeding capacity in recent years (minus the pandemic) and the Pandora park was huge when it opened. Waited over 2 hours for the main ride, but to be fair it was one of the best amusement park rides that isn't a roller coaster I've even been on.

> Yeeeeeah but Jurassic Park also had two more sequels after the first
> before laying dormant for a while. I'm honestly not really sure what
> comparison there is to Avatar 2 -- a long delayed sequel to the biggest
> movie ever that almost immediately everyone decided they didn't like
> anymore, with, as you said, very little in between tie-in-wise to keep the
> excitement going.

> Some random thoughts:

> - If Horner was alive, I'd be way more excited. No offense to Franglen,
> who I think will excel at the job and deliver some fantastic music,
> but...just is what it is.

That goes without saying.

> - Will Zoe Saldana go down in history as the actress in the most amount of
> super huge famous money-making movies that ISN'T one of our most
> well-known actresses? Between this and Marvel, she's been in just a butt
> load of blockbusters, yet how many people talk about Zoe Saldana the same
> way they do, I dunno, Kate Winslet? Also, I still have a massive crush on
> Zoe Saldana. There it is.

I kind of what a Zoe Saldana multiverse film with Gamorra and Uhuru and her Avatar character.

> - I'm almost more stoked to read the reviews and box office receipts for
> this movie than actually seeing it. Just so much riding on it, I'm
> absolutely fascinated. I really like Cameron's movies, really don't like
> Cameron as a person, so I'm torn between wanting to see another success
> (can this sequel be called the Biggest Not-Underdog Underdog ever?) or
> watch him crash and burn.

> - I loved Avatar when it came out. Loved loved loved. Even got in a loud
> argument with a film professor in the middle of class who decided to rag
> on it (guess what was the only class in film school I failed?). As the
> years progressed and I watched it more and more, the flaws and faults,
> which are many, became harder and harder to ignore. I still love many
> aspects of it; everything looks and sounds just so wonderful, and if you
> watch it as a drinking game like me and my wife do, where you take a drink
> every time a line of dialogue stinks, it can be a real barn-burster of
> deliciousness. But...the time of Avatar kinda passed rather quickly. So
> huge, then so lambasted, and now...ignored, forgotten, uncared for?

> - I was teaching seventh graders today and one of them said they were born
> in 2009. So half of the most intense, passionate, and avid movie-going
> audience out there was barely even fucking alive when the first one came
> out. Um, YIKES. Also, fuck I'm old.

> - My ultimate prediction? The movie will do well, but not well enough.
> Naysayers, just like with the original, will be surprised it's overall
> better than expected, but overall film-critic community has become so much
> more antagonistic since 2009 (and loud), that it for sure won't be the
> Oscar bait of the first. Studio will get very nervous about the other
> sequels. Third will come out, do even worse, and Cameron will be in a
> Fantastic Beasts situation.

> Will that actually happen? No clue. Might be bigger than Endgame for all
> we know (hahahahaha probably not, but hey, literally 0.0001% of people
> thought Avatar would crush Titanic). Very curious to see what happens.

I can see Disney still releasing the third film in theaters if 2 under performs. But not sure about 4 and 5. I can only imagine how pissed Cameron would get if Disney decides to release them on Disney+ for people like your 7th grade students to watch on their phones.

Honestly, I still love Avatar (first watched it at elvenish), have been really impressed with Franglen’s recent work, and have never disliked a film by Cameron, so… yeah.
I can’t see any way that I don’t at the very bare minimum enjoy myself while watching it, and adore the score afterwards too. Hell, if all goes as planned, I’ll be seeing it in theatres, damnit.

But yeah, none of my friends have any significant awareness of the film (except for Airbender fans, who enjoy making fun of it- helps with the sting of the Shyamalan feature I reckon), so I feel like it may underperform relative to the first. Perhaps a 800 million final gross, mostly in China? (Pulled that number out of nowhere).

> What are your thoughts on the upcoming Avatar 2?

My thoughts are... I'll have thoughts after it's released.

I enjoyed the first movie well enough, but I've never been a huge fan of the world/concept. There's plenty of room to grow within the world Cameron conjured up, but based on the first film, I'm not entirely convinced we'll get anything truly special outside of the visual effects.

Still, I'll be most happy to be proven wrong. Until we get a trailer, more info on the plot, etc. I really don't have much to say.

> My thoughts are... I'll have thoughts after it's released.

> I enjoyed the first movie well enough, but I've never been a huge fan of
> the world/concept. There's plenty of room to grow within the world Cameron
> conjured up, but based on the first film, I'm not entirely convinced we'll
> get anything truly special outside of the visual effects.

> Still, I'll be most happy to be proven wrong. Until we get a trailer, more
> info on the plot, etc. I really don't have much to say.

That's an incredibly rational response. Don't see that on the internet too much anymore.

I don't dislike Avatar, but I was pissed coming out of the theater because James Cameron was my favorite director and he directed Terminator 2 and Aliens, two of the most gritty, serious, yet heartfelt and exciting movies I ever seen. He also directed Titanic, one of my all time favorite spectacle movie. Avatar just didn't measure up to those films. It was just too ordinary, too Disney, and the ex machina ending was borderline juvenile compared his past movies. I guess it was my fault that I expected a masterpiece every time.

I always did like the score though. The only criticism is that the main theme just irritably reused the Titanic Song opening.

> What are your thoughts on the upcoming Avatar 2?

My dad is going to have a field day with this. He hated the first film and thought most of the budget was spent on special effects and very little was spent on making sure the writing was good.

I'm looking forward to it. If nothing else, it's guaranteed to be a visual spectacle, which so few blockbusters are these days (the Marvel movies are so bland looking with a couple exceptions). A proper cinematic experience even if the story is nothing special. Just like the first one really.

I'm still a bit skeptical of Franglen. I've enjoyed his recent scores, but where he hasn't yet impressed me is with action music. I hope he can step things up and write something that can stand alongside the likes of "War" and "Quaritch Down". Maybe bring back Nicholas Dodd

> It appears that 2022 will be the year the next Avatar film finally gets
> released (I'll believe it when I see a trailer). First, I wonder if they
> will just call it Avatar 2. Or will Cameron get an idea from another one
> of his sequels and call it Avatars? Or go with the ever popular subtitle,
> for something like Avatar: Return to Pandora, or Avatar: The Last
> Airbender. Who knows?

There were some "leaked" titles that surfaced a year or so ago, but I don't believe they were ever officially confirmed or denied. The latest trend has been moving away from sequels with numbers in the title, so I bet we get something like "Avatar: The Way of Water" [this was the rumored title].

> All I've really heard about the sequel(s) is that they will explore some
> of the ocean's of Pandora, and apparently the main characters have kids
> now. I'm cool with exploring more of Pandora, which was a highlight of the
> first film in 3D. Cameron's no stranger to exploring underwater
> environments in films, so I think he could deliver something as visually
> exciting as the first film. As for adding kids to the sequels, usually I'm
> not a fan of the idea as they can often be the weakest part of a sequel
> (see Legend of Zorro and Mummy Returns).

Cameron has never NOT pushed the bounds of what blockbuster films can do and look like, so I am expecting him to do so again. Plus, you just don't have studios funding anything else on this level where a director has basically unlimited funding and freedom to push the boundaries. I often wonder what filmmakers could be doing with the latest technologies if it weren't for the fact that all of our biggest blockbusters are part of franchises where visual consistency trumps making things visual distinct.

> A lot has been discussed online on whether there is an appetite for more
> Avatar. After all, the series has mostly been dormant since the release of
> the first film. Not really any tie-in books, video games, or shows we've
> come to expect with most blockbuster series these days. The biggest Avatar
> event over the last few years was the new park at Disney, which is
> actually pretty spectacular, and was a big hit. I think once the marketing
> push starts, people will certainly get excited for a new film.

Absolutely. Cameron has been working on this for a decade, which is why you don't have these tie-ins or whatnot that people try to use as a sign of weak interest. Disney/Fox could have and would have absolutely tried pumping out Avatar video games, comics, and shows if Cameron didn't have the ability to say "no." Avatar remains the fastest-selling DVD release of all time, so there was absolutely no lack of enthusiasm and interest in the property even after the theatrical run.

> I think the closest comparison I could make would be for the release of
> Jurassic World, which also surprised people with how successful it was
> despite having been released over a decade after the last film.

> I'm not sure the film will be as successful as the first, and I think 4
> sequels seems excessive, but it feels like comic book films and other
> series that have overstayed their welcome are dominating the box office
> these days, I'm actually really curious to see what Cameron will deliver
> for the sequel.

Like I mentioned before, Cameron is basically the only guy getting to make anything on this scale and with this level of ambition, so I'll be there to support him throughout. Plus, Cameron himself is not writing any of these sequels (just coming up with the stories), so if clunky dialogue was ever a real barrier for anyone, that should be out the window this time around. I do agree, that it likely won't be an Oscar contender, but should still be a fun time.

> What are your thoughts on the upcoming Avatar 2?