Fans waiting to take a peek at James Cameron's highly-anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water will have to wait a little longer, since the official trailer for the sequel will premiere exclusively ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. As revealed in Disney’s CinemaCon panel, the trailer will play in theaters for a week before becoming available online.
In 2009, Avatar made history by becoming the first movie to cross the $2.8 billion mark at the international box office, taking over Cameron’s Titanic position as the biggest release ever, with $2.2 billion. It didn’t take long for 20th Century Studios, belonging to Fox by time, to greenlight a sequel and turn Cameron’s eco-friendly fantasy universe into a franchise. It’s been more than a decade, but we’ve only got glimpses of the future of Avatar, as Cameron worked simultaneously on four film sequels. Fox invested heavily in the franchise, and now that Disney is the owner of the Avatar IP, it’s reasonable that they’ll do whatever they can to increase the hype for Avatar: The Way of Water.
During CinemaCon, Disney showed the first footage for Avatar: The Way of Water. Unfortunately, since the event is not open to the public, all fans can see right now are the exciting early reactions lost across social media. That’ll increase the mystery around the sequel, as everyone is dying to finally watch Avatar: The Way of the Water trailer and see what it is all about. On top of that, giving the trailer a week of theatrical exclusivity allows Disney to keep the secret hidden a little longer while also rewarding viewers who pay their ticket to watch Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Lastly, since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the most anticipated summer movie for 2022, it can’t hurt to try to redirect the MCU audience towards Avatar:The Way of Water.
Avatar: The Way of Water will take us back to the alien planet Pandora, 14 years after the first film's events. There, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) built their own corner of paradise and are now the proud parents of a young alien boy. The sequel follows the adventures of the infant alien while taking us on a journey underneath Pandora’s oceans.
Avatar: The Way of Water also sees the return of Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, and Matt Gerald. Sigourney Weaver is also set to come back, although in a different role. New cast additions for Avatar: The Way of Water include Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, Vin Diesel, and CJ Jones.
Cameron wrote the script for Avatar: The Way of Water together with Josh Friedman. Cameron is also producing the sequel with Jon Landau, who co-wrote the script for the first film in the franchise.
Avatar: The Way of Water is set to premiere on December 16, 2022. The other three sequels come to theaters every two years, in 2024, 2026, and 2028. As for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Marvel’s Master of Mystic Arts comes to theaters on May 6.