The 2009 release of Avatar seems like an eternity ago. A time before the MCU was the juggernaut it is today, before Star Wars had been revamped, when the idea of a Deadpool movie was a pipedream. The film exploded onto the scene, bringing back 3D and becoming the highest grossing film of all time. After years of ifs and whens, it seems like the sequel will soon begin production.
Sigourney Weaver revealed that they begin shooting the film sometime in the autumn and have already begun training. Despite the drawn out wait, James Cameron himself recently stated that he was pretty much ready to get going on the sequel, which will be followed by three more sequels after that.
When you think that Cameron has had to write a story arc spanning four (probably very long) films, you can understand why it’s taken so long for the sequel to begin production.
The question Cameron will be wondering to himself is whether the audience for Avatar remains. With 3D now dead, audiences having realised how little it adds to the experience of most films not to mention to price, and almost a decade since the original film, will the demand be there?
Not to mention that the original critical praise for the film has dramatically dwindled in the years since its release with audiences able to view it outside of the confines of a comfy, engrossing IMAX cinema and picking at the plot. It’s hard to imagine the sequels generating the same amount of interest as the original film, though Cameron has always been adept at capturing the imagination of the mainstream public.
There will be plenty of time to discuss this, since there’s no chance the film arrives on the biggest screens until at least 2019. Cameron and co. will be hoping it’s worth the wait.
#Peace.Love.Avatar
