Avatar (2009)
Avatar follows the story of Jake Sully, a paraplegic ex-marine sent to Pandora to make sure that the military’s DNA-matched humanoid originally created for his deceased twin brother doesn’t go to waste.
Once there, he’s promised government-funded medicine that would restore use of his legs if he accomplishes his mission: convincing the local species, the Na’vi, to evacuate their home for the military to mine the extremely valuable unobtanium hidden below it.
However, things don’t go as planned. Jake is nearly killed until Neytiri, a member of the Na’vi, saves his life—leading Jake to be drawn to the Na’vi way of life and to him integrating himself amongst them. Jake’s morals are put to the ultimate test when the military moves in to force a violent evacuation of the Na’vi, pitting his human desires against a new world and culture he’s learned to love and respect.
Avatar was helmed by world-renowned director James Cameron, known for his work on Titanic and the Terminator franchise, among others. He first began to develop the concept for Avatar in 1994 when he drafted approximately 80 pages of it, preparing for it to be released shortly after Titanic in 1997. He ultimately shelved the idea because the technology at the time wasn’t advanced enough to truly capture his vision for the film.
Avatar finally saw the light of day in 2009 and when adjusted for inflation, it remains the second highest grossing film of all time.
Plot of Avatar: The Way of Water
Now, 13 years later, Avatar’s sequel—Avatar: The Way of Water—is finally set to release.
Set more than 10 years after the original, Avatar: The Way of Water still follows the story of Jake, who now has a family with spouse Neytiri. Unfortunately for the Na’vi, their world is under threat once again by humans who desperately need the resources on Pandora to save their civilization.
As a result, Jake must work once more with his fellow Na’vi to protect the planet—but this time he has a family to protect, to keep alive, and to carry through numerous tragedies.
With a runtime of more than 3 hours to tell a compelling story and focus on the complicated emotions and relationships of the movie’s main characters, Cameron’s first teaser trailer for the film received more than 148 million views in the first 24 hours it was released.
Cast of Avatar: The Way of Water
The Way of Water retains a lot of the same cast who made Avatar so successful more than a decade ago.
Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Zoe Saldana (Neytiri) and Stephen Lang (Miles Quaritch) all reprise their roles from the original film, while Sigourney Weaver returns to the cast as well but in a new role altogether.
Joining the returning cast is Titanic’s Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis, who take on the roles of Ronal, a matriarch of the new water tribe, and the leader of the water tribe (as well as Ronal’s spouse) respectively.
Fun facts & behind the scenes information
When movies have budgets as large as Avatar: The Way of Water does, it’s usually because there’s a ton of technological innovations that are being used to ‘wow’ moviegoers—leading to some interesting fun facts about the production.
Fun fact number 1: while filming Way of Water, Winslet officially broke a world record! Tom Cruise previously held the record for the longest free dive in the cinema industry with a dive lasting approximately 6 minutes for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. This record now belongs to Winslet, who held her breath for 7 minutes and 14 seconds during the filming of Way of Water.
Using performance capture under water was a feat that had never been done before. Cameron was determined to do it however, so the crew got to work; it took them almost 2 full years to develop the technology that enabled them to film the jaw-dropping underwater scenes you’ll see in the film.
Fun fact number 2: this sequel was originally scheduled to be released in 2014, only 5 years after the original Avatar. However, the scripts for the film (as well as the 3 other sequels, as they were written concurrently) took almost 4 years to complete. The evolution of the technology further added delays, and then finally the COVID-19 pandemic once again pushed filming back. The end result? Avatar: The Way of Water will officially hit the big screen nearly 8 years after it was originally intended.
Fun fact number 3: Both Way of Water and the untitled third installment in the series were filmed at the same time. Avatar 3 is currently scheduled to be released at some time in 2024. Whether or not Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 get made will depend on the reception of Way of Water and Avatar 3. If all 5 get made, it’s estimated that the entire series will collectively cost more than $1 billion to make.
Talk about a budget!
Experience Avatar: The Way of Water in with D-BOX haptics
While Avatar: The Way of Water is expected to leave audiences in awe with its graphics and high-tech innovations, the best way to experience this long-awaited title is to feel it all with D-BOX’s haptic feedback.
With a unique sequence of movements, vibrations, and textures hand-coded by our haptic designers to move you perfectly in sync with the action, you’ll feel like you’re flying high on a banshee and being submerged underwater with the Na’vi!
Join the fight for Pandora and truly feel every moment of hope, despair, and action by purchasing your tickets for Avatar: The Way of Water today!
