Covid-19 delays Avatar sequel
The Avatar movie sequel being created in Wellington will be delayed because of Covid-19.
Avatar 2 is being pushed to December 2022. The delay means the other three planned sequels will be delayed as well.
Director James Cameron, in a message on Twitter, said everything was on track before the pandemic to release the film in December next year.
He said the coronavirus outbreak had disrupted virtual production work in Los Angeles.
Cameron said he was disappointed but also buoyed by the extraordinary work Weta Digital was doing to bring the world of Pandora to life.
Cameron thanked Disney
Studios for their support and made a pledge to fans of the blockbuster. “Most of all, I am grateful to you, our fans, for your support over the years and I promise that what we bring to cinemas will deliver.”
Cameron ended by saying “thank you” in Na’vi, the language of Pandora.
The Hollywood heavyweight was among more than 50 Avatar crew granted permission to enter New Zealand in May to resume work on the $1 billion movie sequels.
The film crew arrived in Wellington using a loophole that allowed foreigners through closed borders. Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford revealed there was a category for border exemptions for foreigners deemed essential to a project of “significant economic value”.
The film industry said allowing key film personnel, like producers and cast, into New Zealand would be “huge” as it could trigger thousands of jobs for Kiwis.
Oscar-winning producer Jon Landau spoke about the film crew’s arrival almost two months ago.
“Made it to New Zealand,” he posted on Facebook. “Our 14-day Government-supervised selfisolation now begins.”
He announced he would be returning to New Zealand to resume production on the sequel, telling RNZ the crew felt “very comfortable” to be “coming to the safest place in the world”.
“We feel very comfortable because of the actions of your Government and also the responsibility the people took to really curb the virus there.
“So we feel we’re coming back to the safest place in the world possible, thanks to a team of people that we’ve worked with. We believe we have a very thoughtful, detailed and diligent safety plan.”
Landau said “far fewer people” than they had last year would be flying into New Zealand and only those deemed “essential” to the production would enter the country.