AVATAR Sequel Already In Production

[Sadao]

AVATAR Sequel Already In Production

By AVATAR on Jun 16, 2010 10:03 AM 2 Comments
Speculation about a sequel to AVATAR started before the movie was released. AVATAR’s success has ensured that sequel. Rumors are flying. Who will be in it and what will it be like? Here's what we know so far from comments by James Cameron, John Landau and members of the cast.
Guest Post by Rebecca Scudder
AVATAR’s sequel will be about Neytiri and Jake, but it is unlikely to be called AVATAR 2. According to SciFiWire, Cameron has confirmed that the Na’vi culture, including the spiritual aspects, will be a focus point for the movie. "Certainly I don't want to call it AVATAR 2," Cameron said "He's not an AVATAR anymore, is he? Maybe we'll call it Na'vi." James Cameron has said that scenes integral to the sequel were included in the first movie. There are three movies planned at this point, although AVATAR 3 information is mostly speculation on the part of fans.
While Cameron worked on AVATAR for ten years, he expects the making of the first of the AVATAR sequels to be much faster – and cheaper. There will probably be additional technological developments incorporated in the sequels, but the 3D and CGI technology used in AVATAR is already on hand for the making of the first AVATAR sequel. Cameron has confirmed, in interviews with MTV and the LA Times, that there is a trilogy planned, that it will not take ten more years to arrive, and that much of the action in the sequel will take place in the oceans of Pandora. He has also said that the sequel will take place several years after the events in AVATAR.
While the oceans of Pandora were briefly glimpsed in AVATAR with a view of Jake and Neytiri swimming, much more is due to seen in the second movie. Cameron told the LA Times that the oceans would be “rich, diverse, crazy and imaginative”. AVATAR An Activist Survival Guide mentions there are rafts of floating seaweed in the oceans. The book also has an image of the Amenonoid, a bioluminescent invertebrate with poisonous tentacles, found in ponds and lakes. Perhaps there is a larger relation in the oceans…
The sequel is in production, according to IMDB, with a scheduled release date of 2014. Fans of AVATAR are speculating that while Cameron said it will take just three years to make the sequel, the reason it will not be released in 2013 is because The Hobbit I & II are scheduled to be released in late 2012 and 2013. AVATAR’s sequel will have a release date timed not to conflict with the expected blockbusters – most likely 2014. Cameron and 20th Century Fox seem to be taking to heart the lesson learned when AVATAR’s audience share plummeted with the release of Alice in Wonderland, How to Train your Dragon and Clash of the Titans. Since there are that the Hobbit may be shot in 3D, the conflict for theater space would be even more monstrous if the Hobbit Part 2 was released at the same time as the AVATAR sequel.
It seems to be standard policy in movies that may spawn sequels to have the stars sign agreements for multi-movie contracts when they are first cast in a movie, ensuing continuity. However, not every movie pans out. With the take from AVATAR an estimated 2.7 billion, those signatures are very important. In many ways stars in AVATAR really are avatars with CGI bodies. This does not mean that the actors behind those AVATARs can be replaced easily. The distinctive personal style those actors gave their characters – and their voices – cannot easily be replaced by a different person. While Worthington and Saldana previously signed contracts for sequels to AVATAR, the terms for those contracts are likely to have changed.
More and more of the cast of AVATAR are confirming they are back in the sequel. Jake, Neytiri and Mo’at's actors are all saying they have signed on for the sequel. Curiously, Colonel Quaritch may also be back. (Did the RDA scrape DNA from the Pandoran soil to clone him? Perhaps he is featured in Na’vi nightmares.) Sigourney Weaver, whose character became one with Eywa in AVATAR, is going to return in the sequel too, although it is not known if she will be embodied. She has said that Cameron may be bringing the whole family together again.
Another rumor with some basis in comments by Cameron says that future movies will explore more of Alpha Centauri, especially the other moons of Polyphemus. This certainly would offer some spectacular scenery. Those moons also influence the tides on Pandora, making them important even if they are not explored in the first sequel.
The constructed language of Na’vi has a strong fan community trying to learn it. Those fans will get a vocabulary boost in the second movie. Additional Na’vi dialog and more abstract concepts can be expected as we learn more about the Na’vi spiritual beliefs. The ecological themes in AVATAR have resonated with people around the world, and variations on the themes will play out in the conflicts that can be expected between the Na’vi and the RDA.
With the news that time has passed on Pandora, and a projected release of 2014, the events on Pandora may match the real time passed here on Earth.
What surprises do you think Cameron has in store for us in the AVATAR sequel?

[Warrior420]

I cant wait......

[toruk_makto]

Damn you Hobbit, make way for the real blockbusters. I got part of that old want for avatar back after reading this.

[Txim_Asawl]

[B] Curiously, Colonel Quaritch may also be back. (Did the RDA scrape DNA from the Pandoran soil to clone him? Perhaps he is featured in Na’vi nightmares.)

Yeah, perhaps we will see him with a number "8" tattooed on his forearm, and the USM Auriga in orbit of Pandora, where they store the gory numbers 1 to 7...



*SCNR*

Seriously, though, that was one of the great acting moments of Sigourney Weaver in that Firefly-meets-Alien movie written by Joss Whedon, when she discovered the previous "attempts" made to clone Ripley...

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Ganesha*~

[Pa'que]

Cameron better not go to the moons of Pandora or fight battles on its oceans. The Na'vi do not have that type of technology to fly into outer space and human warships are obviously superior to any animal. Please, please, please do not ruin this. This is not good news.

[Helius]

So...how is this related to "sequel already in production"??

[Red Aviary]

Yeah, the topic title is a little misleading. Sequel confirmed, but it's not actually being made yet.

Well, it's too late to fix some of the major flaws in Avatar's plot... but not too late for others.

For one, I really hope that, with more information being provided on the Na'vi culture, they're made a lot more well-rounded. Their "perfection" was a major reason for why Avatar was so lacking. I mean, it's an extremely romanticized version of a native population. Where's the superstition, sexism, savage practices and the condemnation of everything deviating from the norm that you'd normally find in a society stuck in the hunter/gatherer stage? I mean, some of this can admittely be mitigated by them having a biological internet and such, but at least something of that has to be shown. The Na'vi are practically a race of Mary Sues, and that needs major fixing.

I'd also like for Jake Sully to have doubts about casting aside his humanity so readily. Maybe tie it to the above and have him realize that the Na'vi aren't as perfect as he thought they were, now that he's really living among them and not so enamored with the idea.

Should also provide a deeper relationship with Neytiri. They're relationship feels very... convenient. There has to be some conflict between the two to make it compelling and realistic. Watching them frolic through the forest for three hours isn't very interesting.

I'd like a significant portion of the movie devoted to Earth, too. Portraying humanity as the unequivocal enemy of the Na'vi was another major flaw. There were practically no sympathetic human characters, besides the handful that joined Scully. There has to be another dimension added to humanity than "humans are greedy bastards." On that topic, the idea that Earth is completely screwed is a bit unbelievable. I mean, I can believe that there is significant environmental damage to Earth's biosphere, and that overpopulation has become a larger problem, but not to the extreme levels that Cameron is portraying. I think that there should be hope for Earth and humanity.

Characters from the last movie like Selfridge and Quaritch shouldn't be brought back. They were stereotypical, two-dimensional archetype characters. I don't see a whole lot of opportunity to make Selfridge a very interesting character, and Quaritch... he's dead. I don't see any reason for him to come back in any major capacity. His corpse was probably eaten after the battle (with all those rampaging animals, I doubt that the Na'vi had many corpses leftover to bury), and RDA/whoever would have absolutely no reason to clone him or anything. If that rumor of the actor being back is true, it had better be some kind of flashback or something.

Another thought. With all the tech that RDA left behind in their, ah, hasty retreat, you'd think that maybe some of the Na'vi (maybe some of the ones from Grace's school that managed to get some formal education?) might find it and become very interested in how it works. I mean, the Na'vi aren't stupid, and it's not like they have a hivemind. There were Native Americans that appreciated the more advanced technology that the Europeans brought over. This could again tie into the idea that the Na'vi aren't completely perfect, and lead to a splinter group that Jake has to deal with as the new chief. Maybe he can sort of sympathize with them, even, adding to the conflict.

Even if he doesn't pursue those, hopefully Cameron can make a plot that's as compelling as Terminator and not so... The Last Samurai IN SPACE. >_>

[Txim_Asawl]

Yeah, the topic title is a little misleading. Sequel confirmed, but it's not actually being made yet.

The way I read it so far, it is announced for 2014, but not in production as yet... and that might mean something or not... The movie version of a great graphic novel series (Elfquest) was announced in the mid 1990s, too, and is currently "in development", with a prospective release year of 2013... so, JC has announced to make one, but we can't be certain of the release year as yet.

Well, it's too late to fix some of the major flaws in Avatar's plot... but not too late for others.

For one, I really hope that, with more information being provided on the Na'vi culture, they're made a lot more well-rounded. Their "perfection" was a major reason for why Avatar was so lacking. I mean, it's an extremely romanticized version of a native population. Where's the superstition, sexism, savage practices and the condemnation of everything deviating from the norm that you'd normally find in a society stuck in the hunter/gatherer stage? I mean, some of this can admittely be mitigated by them having a biological internet and such, but at least something of that has to be shown. The Na'vi are practically a race of Mary Sues, and that needs major fixing.

Well, let's be clear about one thing: we have watched a fantasy movie. One with a very strong impact on viewers, one with a (necessary, IMO) in-your-face message on the necessity of treating environment and people with love and respect and most definitely one to rub our noses into some of current humanity's flaws... and that was done by portraying an over-ideal tribal way of living very far away from our own human struggles and hang-ups. What you describe is basically what us human beings are still going through. We might have developed advanced technology and currently take advantage of it, too, as we see right here - a few decades back, such a large network like this forum would have been pure science fiction - but "the superstition, sexism, savage practices and the condemnation of everything deviating from the norm that you'd normally find in a society stuck in the hunter/gatherer stage" are still prevalent in today's society as well, since human beings haven't developed too far from the basic hunter/gatherer layout... we still stick to the same rituals our so-called "primitive" ancestors went through to find a mate, to compete for leadership inside a group and to be the best among all the others. It's the same mechanics, only the tools have changed. And I bet, no one would have wanted to see the Na'vi as a native tribe on the brink of developing their own version of the current human way of life.

I'd also like for Jake Sully to have doubts about casting aside his humanity so readily. Maybe tie it to the above and have him realize that the Na'vi aren't as perfect as he thought they were, now that he's really living among them and not so enamored with the idea.

Should also provide a deeper relationship with Neytiri. They're relationship feels very... convenient. There has to be some conflict between the two to make it compelling and realistic. Watching them frolic through the forest for three hours isn't very interesting.

Indeed... that frolicking thing could be made into an animated TV series for kids... like the Na'vi version of Ranger Rick minus the ranger outfit... All kidding aside, I am hoping for a sequel to delve into some depths of characterization which were left out in the first movie - had JC taken the time to get into their characters more deeply, the movie would have been over four hours long... what will become of Jake after the first euphoria of now being truly one with his new body has subsided...? What about enduring the times of Neytiri's nightmares - which she surely will have after the battle and the traumatic experience of death in such large proportion, starting with the destruction of Hometree and ending with the very personal feeling of having two mounts killed literally beneath her beautiful butt and being connected to them via tsaheylu? As I wrote somethread earlier, that bond must have sent some of that agony to her, while Seze and the palulukan were killed, and those cries she uttered weren't just fear or terror, they were genuine outcries of pain.

There's lots of potential there, and also for the remnants of Earth left on Pandora. Interesting thought of the Na'vi discovering RDA weaponry and perhaps wanting to use it... however, if they had that desire, wouldn't they have tried to raid Sec-ops patrols earlier on and then get some of that weapons tech?

Well, we'll see what the outcome may be...

Wiggling bare toes in anticipation,

~*Txim Asawl*~

[brianct]

'Where's the superstition, sexism, savage practices and the condemnation of everything deviating from the norm that you'd normally find in a society stuck in the hunter/gatherer stage?'

what? supestition? What ever do you mean? as for stuck in hunter gather stage...thats an academic invention ...there are no 'stages'...The BP apocalypse shows us the present 'stage' is disastrous...Roman empier etc shows us that stage was disastrous...etc etc
Its easy to see youve romanticised your 'stage'

'I'd also like for Jake Sully to have doubts about casting aside his humanity so readily. '

he hasnt cast aside his 'humanity', another word/concept you seem to know nothing about...Its the humans who thru greed and rampant technology who have cast aside their humanity,as we can see thru the corporate types, and most politicians(Bush/cheney)

'Should also provide a deeper relationship with Neytiri. They're relationship feels very... convenient. There has to be some conflict between the two to make it compelling and realistic. Watching them frolic through the forest for three hours isn't very interesting.'

deeper? and conflict? deeper relationship implies LESS conflict...

Clearly you hate AVATAR...

[brianct]

For those who think hunter gather is just a stage to the NY yuppie...think again:
Amazon.com: Stone Age Economics (9780202010991): Marshall Sahlins: Books

its a WAY of life in tune with nature...the agricultural 'stage'led to the first empires, the industrial 'stage'..to BP and nuclear apocalypses....

clearly this 'stage' talk is the real superstition