Producer Jon Landau has let the cat out of the bag by revealing New Avatar 2 story details for James Cameron’s forthcoming sequels. Avatar is James Cameron’s epic sci-fi franchise. It shattered box office records. Also, it held the title of the highest-grossing film of all time for over a decade after its release. Avengers: Endgame momentarily dethroned it. But it quickly recaptured the top rank, and it now holds the position with a total lifetime gross of $2.8 billion.
In the year 2154, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a disabled former Marine, discovers Pandora. It is a forested planet populated by an alien race known as the Na’vi. While there, Sully transforms into an “Avatar,” occupying the body of a Na’vi. He eventually joins the tribe to fight the human invaders. The series also stars Zoe Saldana as Sully’s mate, Neytiri, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, and joining the cast of the sequel(s), Michelle Yeoh, Kate Winslet, Jemaine Clement, Edie Falco, and Cliff Curtis.
Few elements about Cameron’s plans for the Avatar sequels are out. But Landau has divulged some vital details in the new issue of Total Film Magazine (via Games Radar). Landau discusses the plot of Avatar 2. Thereby, stating that the sequel focuses mostly on the Sully family, with Jake and Neytiri now having their brood. The Sullys, who are still living on Pandora, is once again threatened by RDA mining activities, causing Jake to transfer his family to the reef for “what is perceived as a safe harbor.”
And when you get to the reef, there’s a clan we call the Metkayina. The Sullys are no longer in the environment that they know, the rainforest. They become the fish out of water. They become the fish out of water both culturally and just environmentally.
Avatar 2: Universal theme
Landau went on to say, “The scripts are the blueprint from which we work,” and that a large portion of time was spent writing the planned four sequels with the intent of each one resolving itself “with a big emotional resolution” but still connected to a “larger epic saga.” Landau said about Cameron’s overall approach to the franchise sequels: “I think the story of Avatar 2, and the strength of the story, is what Jim [Cameron] always does in any of his movies: he writes in universal themes that are bigger than any one genre. And if you think about this, there’s really no more universal theme than family. At the center of each of our sequels is the Sully family. What are the dynamics that parents go through to protect their family?”
The sequels to Avatar have been a lengthy and ambitious journey for Cameron. He has practically dedicated decades of his life to them. Cameron continued (and continues) to tell his epic Avatar narrative. But the acquisition of Fox by Disney added to the challenges. The implications of Landau’s statement of “The Sullys,” as well as “family” being a central motif, suggest that Avatar will become more about Jake and Neytiri’s legacy than on them individually or the perils they face. Exploring more of Pandora, particularly the underwater life with a new clan of inhabitants, should help resurrect the franchise. It has fallen out of favor in recent years. Avatar 2 will release on December 16, 2022, 13 years after the first film.
