The wait is finally over for Avatar fans everywhere! In Avatar: The Way of Water, audiences return to Pandora and it is better than ever before.
Be sure to check out Avatar: The Way of Water in theaters on December 16!
Here is the scoop on Avatar: The Way of Water!
The Cast and Crew of Avatar: The Way of Water
Zoe Saldaña reprises her role as Neytiri. Fans will also know her from her work in Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Trek Into Darkness.
Sam Worthington returns as Jake Scully. His other works include Hacksaw Ridge and The Shack.
Sigourney Weaver plays Kiri. Some of her most popular work includes roles in Alien, Ghostbusters, and Holes.
Stephen Lang is Colonel Miles Quaritch. His other notable works include Don't Breathe and The Girl on the Train.
Kate Winslet plays Ronal. Some of her notable works include Titanic, The Holiday, and Mare of Easttown.
Jack Champion plays the role of Miles "Spider" Socorro. His other works include The Night Sitter.
Trinity Bliss is Tuktirey. Her other works include roles in The Garcias and Best Foot Forward.
Jamie Flatters portrays Neteyam. Some of his other work includes The School For Good and Evil and So Awkward.
Bailey Bass plays Tsireya. Her other works include Interview with the Vampire and Pit Stop.
James Cameron is the director and producer of Avatar: The Way of Water. In addition to directing Avatar, his other films include Titanic and The Terminator.
Jon Landau is also the producer. He is also known for producing Avatar and Titanic.
Return to Pandora
After the record-setting success of the first Avatar film, fans and critics naturally expected a sequel. However, James Cameron did not always agree. Cameron shares, "It seems obvious to everyone, ‘Oh, you just made a bunch of money, do a sequel,’ right? Well, Stephen Spielberg didn’t do a sequel to E.T., highest grossing film in its, in its time, right?"
Cameron adds, "It’s not a no-brainer, do you want to call down the lightning strike again in the same spot? You know, it’s a lot to live up to." He continues, "I think it’s important for a sequel to honor what the audience loved about the experience the first time. But also to get them off-balance, do things that they don’t expect."
James Cameron says, "There are a lot of surprises in terms of where the story goes in this film." He explains that the sequel, "Goes a lot deeper, in terms of the heart and the emotions."
Cameron adds, "We wanted to get into the family dynamics, and the responsibilities of having kids. And also what that’s all like from the kid’s perspective right?"
Fan-Favorite Characters Return
Avatar: The Way of Water brings back memorable characters from the first film like Jake Scully and Neytiri. Zoe Saldaña talks about returning to play Neytiri. She shares that it's, "Terrifying. It’s so funny, because when something is… very similar to you, you can’t see it. It’s just so close to you that it’s not in front of you. And Neytiri and I, in a way, we’ve lived parallel lives."
She continues, "There is, there’s a level of fearlessness and rebellion that I have, as I guess as a person, that Neytiri had as herself. And I, we were able to sort of find kindred in that."
Zoe also mentions the concept of fear and how it relates to both herself and Neytiri.
She says, "In my personal life, when I became a parent, fear entered my realm. The fear of losing something that you love so much, you know? And you just spend a great deal of your time creating these hypothetical scenarios that just unimaginable. When I read the second script, that was her, that was Neytiri. But I didn’t see it then. I see it now. I… because my job wasn’t to see it, my job was to be it."
Kate Winslet also shares her thoughts on joining the Avatar series. She shares, "Jim has always written for women, characters who are not just strong, but they are leaders, they lead with their heart, with integrity, they stand in their truth, they own their power. They have physical power that is admirable, and to be part of that, and included, it was just so flattering that Jim asked me."
Important Themes
Just like in the first Avatar film, Avatar: The Way of Water is full of important themes for audiences to take away. Producer Jon Landau shares some of his favorite aspects of, "The themes that Jim writes into his stories. Themes are what you leave the theatre with, and this movie has heart, has emotion, and it also has a message again about our world."
Landau continues, "Not just the environment, about people, about accepting people for their differences. In the movie Jim wrote in the line, [Speaks Na’vi], ‘I see you.’ And we want people to know that they’re seen, and that to see others that same way."
The Heart of Avatar
While the Avatar films are known for their incredible display of computer animation and world-building, James Cameron reveals his favorite aspects of these films. James Cameron shares, "I watched it again a week ago for the first time, because I try to do that very sparingly."
He adds, "And what struck me was the work, the performances, the people, you know? I look past all the spectacle, all the design, all the creatures and all that, and as Jon was saying, I look at this, and I’m not only proud of the, of the work, you’ve got to start with that, right?'
Cameron continues, "But I’m also proud of the entire downstream team, over a thousand people who preserved it so eloquently and so subtly that… I see times when you’re not even saying a word, there’s a whole scene between you and Cliff, there’s no dialogue, and yet it’s close-up, close-up, close-up, close-up, and there’s a whole dialogue in the eyes."
A Team Effort
No movie is complete without an incredible team to put it together. From the director to the actors and editors, there are lots of different people who work on bringing a film to life.
James Cameron reveals that Stephen Lang who plays Colonel Miles Quaritch helps come up with some of the ideas for the film. Cameron says "I just want to shout out that Stephen is also a screenwriter, very accomplished, and he actually brought ideas that I was able to incorporate in the writing phase, we have a kind of a shorthand that way."
What Audiences Will Love
If you enjoyed Avatar, you are going to love Avatar: The Way of Water! With an incredible story, cast, and bigger and better visuals, everyone is going to adore this movie.
James Cameron says it best concluding, "Everybody’s mighty in this film."
Head to theaters for Avatar: The Way of Water starting on December 16!
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