The "Avatar" sequels have been a long time coming. It's been nearly a decade since we saw the first adventure where Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana played unlikely love interests despite being different races (human and na'vi). James Cameron has been promising sequels all this time, and interest has waned. At this point, most people are more excited about the sequel to "The Incredibles" than they are about a series of sequels to a film which has been called "yet another remake" of "Ferngully," "Dances with Wolves," and others.
Visually impressive for its time, despite the harsh backlash even among LGBTQ activists who felt they weren't represented at all, "Avatar" managed to earn a record box office income. Of course, if you take into account the Chinese audiences, "Transformers: Age of Extinction" was also a massive success. Making major bucks doesn't make a movie good.
Just ask anyone who was tired of "Resident Evil" after two or three movies.
Despite numerous delays, it appears 'Avatar' will make its comeback
It was suggested throughout the past decade that the overall story is much larger than the first film had led us to believe.
We'd only seen a small part of Pandora, due to the military's obsession with "unobtainium," a mineral which sat beneath the life tree. This revelation was part of what turned Jake Sully (Worthington) against the people who'd sent him and earned him the undying loyalty of the native people.
Apparently, the story is far from over, and a possible underwater portion of the planet will be featured in the upcoming "Avatar" sequel release dates.
With the upgrade in technology since "Avatar" grabbed our money by the millions, audiences will also expect the visuals to be more detailed than ever. We are approaching the 8K benchmark and 3D is almost irrelevant now outside theaters.
The next sequel is planned to hit in 2020
Starting on December 18, 2020 with "Avatar 2," it appears James Cameron is willing to take on the "Star Wars" films. Further release dates include December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024, and December 19, 2025. This is of course assuming that there is enough box office revenue from the first sequel and it doesn't bomb like "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" and "Fant4stic."
James Cameron has faced terrific odds before and come through amazingly, having made both "Alien" and "The Terminator" sequels more famous than the originals, and turning the disaster of the Titanic into a roaring success.