LOS ANGELES • At long last, the sequels to Avatar (2009) have release dates.
Last Saturday, the Avatar Facebook page posted an image of director James Cameron and a large production crew, with the caption: "Avatar takes flight as we begin concurrent production on four sequels.
"The journey continues Dec 18, 2020; Dec 17, 2021; Dec 20, 2024; and Dec 19, 2025."
This is not the first time Cameron has announced a release date for the film though.
In 2010, a year after Avatar ushered in a new era of 3D film- making and became the highest- grossing movie at US$2.8 billion, he said sequels would arrive, starting in December 2014.
In 2012, he spent an estimated US$16 million to buy 1,000ha of farmland in New Zealand, hoping to recreate the lushness of the planet Pandora there, and pushed the first release date to 2015.
A year later, as he spent time exploring the ocean's deepest parts, the date crept to December this year.
Actors Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang are expected to return to their roles from the original movie.
Meanwhile, Disney will open a Pandora-themed section in its Animal Kingdom Theme Park in Orlando, Florida, next month.
NYTIMES
