‘Avatar 2’ reveals stunning first trailer, official title at Cinemacon
LAS VEGAS – Get ready to re-immerse yourself in the world of Pandora. On Wednesday, Disney revealed the first teaser trailer for “Avatar: The Way of Water” (in theaters Dec. 16), the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron’s record-shattering 2009 blockbuster.
As the title suggests, the gorgeous new footage was filled with shots of the lithe Na’vi people swimming in crystal-blue pools, soaring over sparkling waterways on winged creatures and emerging from the ocean to wage battle.
The trailer, which was shown in 3D, ended with a tearful exchange between our hero Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his partner, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).
“I know one thing,” he reassures her. “Wherever we go, this family is our fortress.”
Journalists in attendance took to Twitter after the trailer’s premiere at Cinemacon to rave about what they saw, calling the “Avatar” sequel “a visual feast” and “absolutely stunning.”
“The Way of Water” is the first of four planned “Avatar” movies that are set to arrive in theaters in the coming years.
“There’s no more relatable theme than family,” producer John Landau teased while speaking to the crowd at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. “At the center of each of our four sequels is the Sully family.”
He continued that each film will “play out as its own stand-alone movie” with “fulfilling resolutions to every film,” although when looked at as a whole, all four sequels will be “a connected saga.”
“Way of Water” features the return of cast members from the first film including Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, while adding new actors to the mix such as Kate Winslet and Michelle Yeoh.
“We wanted our return to Pandora to be something really special,” Cameron said in a pre-taped video message as he finishes the film. “Every shot was designed for the biggest screen, highest resolution and most immersive 3D possible.”
The teaser trailer will debut exclusively in theaters ahead of “Doctor Strange and the Madness of the Multiverse” next week, before premiering online the following week.
Landau also announced that a remastered version of the first “Avatar,” which grossed $2.7 billion worldwide, will be rereleased in theaters on Sept. 23.