The wait is almost over. After 13 years of delays, the development of new technologies, and the promise of four sequels, the huge franchise that started with Avatar is finally getting kicked back to life in mid-December. That means it’s way past time that we got teased with a full trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water – after all, it’s been five months since the record-breaking teaser found its way to our screens.
In addition, the trailer highlights the epic scale of the upcoming adventure. Just like the first movie, Avatar: The Way of Water is certain to offer our eyes a lot to feast upon, and for a long time too: The blockbuster’s runtime is over three hours long. This time, however, the franchise gets even more ambitious as it takes us to an underwater world that challenged production while filming in water tanks.
Avatar: The Way of Water is directed by James Cameron (Terminator: Judgment Day). The filmmaker also pens the screenplay, based on a story from himself, Amanda Silver (Mulan), Rick Jaffa (Jurassic World), Josh Friedman (Foundation), and Shane Salerno (Armageddon). The sequel is the first of four that have their release dates mapped out all the way to 2028. The first entry in the film series is the highest-grossing movie ever made, and it seems like the sequel won’t be far behind.
Even though the movies aren’t being filmed back-to-back, producer Jon Landau confirmed earlier this month that the first act of Avatar 4 has already been filmed due to “logistical reasons”. Since the film series has been planned to its end, it’s possible that the production team decided to use a large-scale set before tearing it down, in order to film a sequence in Avatar 4 that will tie in with previous movies. The sad part is, we’ll only discover how that plays out in 2026.
Rounding Out the Cast of Avatar: The Way of Water
The ensemble cast of Avatar: The Way of Water features returning leads Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, as well as Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Stephen Lang, Michelle Yeoh, Giovanni Ribisi, Edie Falco, CCH Pounder, and Oona Chaplin.
Avatar: The Way of Water premieres in theaters on December 16. You can watch the new trailer below:
Check out the official synopsis here:
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.