New Avatar: The Way Of Water trailer promises water and war
The next installment in James Cameron's Avatar splashes into theaters this December
It’s nearly time to say “I see you” to Avatar: The Way Of Water. Somehow going from a cultural non-event no one cares about to one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the year, James Cameron’s Avatar sequel won’t be in theaters until December, but that doesn’t mean we have to wait for more marketing. Premiering this morning on Good Morning America, the first full trailer for The Way Of Water is here.
As James Cameron explained, these characters are acting their age in The Way Of Water. Last week, Cameron criticized other blockbuster franchises for their immature characters. Iron Man immature? Calm down. Here’s what he said:
When I look at these big, spectacular films — I’m looking at you, Marvel and DC — it doesn’t matter how old the characters are, they all act like they’re in college. They have relationships, but they really don’t. They never hang up their spurs because of their kids. The things that really ground us and give us power, love, and a purpose? Those characters don’t experience it, and I think that’s not the way to make movies.
He also has no sympathy for people struggling to sit through the film’s three-hour runtime. “I don’t want anybody whining about length when they sit and binge-watch [television] for eight hours,” he said earlier this year. “It’s like, give me a fucking break. I’ve watched my kids sit and do five one-hour episodes in a row. Here’s the big social paradigm shift that has to happen: It’s okay to get up and go pee.” Nothing but respect for our pee allower.
While it seems impossible to imagine now, the second Avatar is arriving a decade after the first. 2012's Avatar went on to become the highest-grossing movie in history, only to spend the next decade trading the top spot with Avengers: Endgame whenever Disney decides it’s time to re-release one of them. The most recent re-release of Avatar opened to $30 million at the worldwide box office this past September.
Is that really so surprising? Audiences were denied the experience of enjoying Jake Sulley’s presence for more than a decade. We haven’t had a solid five years without a friggin’ Spider-Man in 20 years. What else can we say? It’s sick and wrong what has been done to us, the movie-going public.
Avatar: The Way Of Water opens on December 16, 2022.