James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar stands tall as the highest grossing movie of all time at the worldwide box office, earning almost $2.8 billion. So while it’s not so surprising that there are four(!) sequels in the works, it is somewhat surprising that it has taken almost ten years to get the ball rolling on this sequel train. While Cameron isn’t exactly known for his haste when it comes to film-making, when it comes time to put up or shut up he’s as reliable as they come. So when word came that he planned to film four Avatar sequel films simultaneously, skepticism gave way to astonishment.
The original Avatar stunned audiences with its gorgeous 3D visuals, depicting a lush planet named Pandora that was inhabited by a native race of blue-skinned aliens called the Na’vi. For the sequels, Cameron hopes to wow audiences with a glasses-free 3D experience unlike anything seen before, which 20th Century Fox no doubt hopes will lure back audiences who haven’t seen much of Pandora since 2009 unless they happened to visit the spectacular Avatar-themed area at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida.
For several years the sequels have been referred to as Avatar 2, Avatar 3, Avatar 4, and Avatar 5, but thanks to BBC News we now have pretty solid information that the titles for the four films have been revealed. Documentation seen by the BBC reveals the official titles as Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa.
Cameron previously stated to Collider that there would be “a tremendous amount of water work across Avatar 2 and 3,” so the title Avatar: The Way of Water makes perfect sense. Regarding the title for the final film, Eywa in The Quest for Eywa references the sacred goddess of the Na’vi.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Cameron confirmed that Kate Winslet has joined the series as “a character who’s part of the Sea People, the reef people.” She is joined by actors David Thewlis, Zoe Saldana, Oona Chaplin, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, and Stephen Lang.
Filming has been completed for Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar: The Seed Bearer, while filming for Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa is taking place right now. The staggered release schedule currently lists December 18, 2020, December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024, and December 19, 2025 as the target date for each sequel to hit theaters.