How Long Have We Been Waiting for the Next Avatar Film?

The success of the first Avatar movie from director James Cameron can’t be understated. The movie did well out the gate when it arrived in several territories around the world in December 2009. But word of mouth about how fun a spectacle it was helped it eventually become the highest-grossing film worldwide in history at $2.78 billion, topping a record Titanic held for around 12 years. The thrill of its visual splendor literally went double for anyone who watched it in 3D, as this movie looked good enough in that alternative viewing method that it led to several other studios providing the same for their movies — though the trend was short-lived.

Given its success, it’s not surprising that Cameron had grandiose plans for the potential franchise, or that a production company would immediately green light it thanks to its massive success. His hilariously long and drawn out description of its plot at Ubisoft’s E3 2009 conference (over 13 minutes!) showed how passionate he was about realizing his vision for its universe of Pandora, which clearly couldn’t be contained to one movie. But who knew we would be waiting this long for the next chapter?

It’s been nearly a decade since the original Avatar released, and though the sequel was confirmed years ago, we’re still waiting for it. Disney, who will now distribute the film and its progeny after acquiring 21st Century Fox, confirmed via a press release that Avatar 2 will now be due in December 2021, meaning it’s been pushed back yet again. But exactly how many times has it been delayed? There aren’t many articles around the internet focused on chronicling its setbacks, but I write for a blog because I want to be the change I want to see… or something like that. It’s time to go over them.

Cameron first announced Avatar 2 in 2010, not long after the first movie released in theaters, for a release sometime in 2014. This seemed like a generous release timeframe given how it would have arrived more than four years after the first film, but it the lack of available technology for underwater scenes and a other issues led to a cycle of delays. The first delay came in 2012, when it was rescheduled for 2015.

Cameron confirmed in 2013 that a production reschedule would result in another delay to December 2016, a timeframe that seemed more definitive thanks to its month being confirmed. When 2015 was coming to a close, Cameron announced a delay to December 2017 thanks to issues with completing the synopsis and scriptwriting. It didn’t help that James Horner, who was hired to compose the movie’s score, died in a plane crash earlier that year.

In 2016, Cameron confirmed just how grandiose his plan would be when four sequels were announced. He also confirmed that Avatar 2 had been delayed yet again, this time until December 2018, and later announced that successors were due in 2020, 2022, and 2023. In a shock, the movies were delayed again in 2017, with the sequel then due on December 18th, 2020, and successors planed for December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024, and December 19, 2025. Those dates appeared to be more definitive, so it sure seemed like Cameron was serious this time around.

Disney took time to detail their upcoming release schedule yesterday. As mentioned above, this included another delay, with the movie now being planned for a December 2021 arrival. They also confirmed the sequels will arrive every two years, in 2023, 2025, and 2027. If you want to know the count, this means the sequel has been delayed a grand total of six times. There’s a chance these new dates for the series could be more definitive under Disney’s new management, though Cameron still has creative control.

Interestingly, the movies are scheduled to arrive between Star Wars films. It was previously confirmed that Lucasfilm’s cash cow of a franchise would go on hiatus from theaters after The Rise of Skywalker’s upcoming release in December, which will last until 2022. A three-year gap seems long given Star Wars’ recent schedule, but this mimics the gap between movies for the last two trilogies under George Lucas. Following this, the movies will return to a bi-annual schedule. The gap won’t feel too long, given how there will be plenty of TV shows to keep everyone occupied.

This schedule ends up being a little funny, given Bloomberg’s recent nonsensical flub about Star Wars fans being disappointed about Avengers: Endgame potentially passing Avatar as the highest-grossing film worldwide. It’s also funny given Cameron’s desire for superhero fatigue to set in, something that’s not even close to happening; his upset is bound to intensify with Endgame coming for Avatar’s top accolade.

What’s even more amazing here is how Disney will be making money from every single one of these movies. This is what happens when megacorporations are allowed to exist, and very likely shut out or gobble up the competition.

The original Avatar was a fun-but-unremarkable film, so hopefully the several successors will leave a lasting impression. The comparisons between these movies and the next Star Wars film will make for a wild time, but the internet will absolutely be able to handle them with grace. Sure.