Avatar 2: The Way of Water is the direct sequel to the highest grossing movie of all time – Avatar. Yeah, no pressure then. The sequel has been in the works for a long time as James Cameron, director of Avatar wanted to expand on the world created by it. After Disney’s acquisition of Fox, they not only green lit the sequel rather other 3 follow-up films as well that are suppose to release at the 2 year interval. The studio has sure put in a lot of trust in Cameron and given his track record with Box Office numbers, it checks out. Earlier this year we’d gotten our first look at the sequel as the official teaser was released by Disney. Since then we’ve been getting small nuggets of information and footages for the sequel but no official trailer yet.
Some official images have been released that give us an idea of what specific characters will look like in the sequel. Like Kate Winslet’s Na’vi. Considering the budget the sequel is being made on i.e., $250 million it is fair to say Cameron is cooking something meaty for the audiences. The visuals in the film might and should be better than the original, the heavy post production work might be the reason behind the trailer being delayed. That being said, Disney has been showcasing new footages from the film at many events. None of these footages have surfaced online. The most we’ve gotten are descriptions of the footages. Speaking of which the Avatar sequel just screened some footage in China.
Why was a Footage from Avatar: The Way of Water Screened in China?
Avatar: The Way of Water had a recent screening in Beijing for China Film Group. China Daily reports that a new footage was showcased on China for China and Disney Film Groups. The footage was shown in China’s CINITY cinema format of 3D, 4K and high-frame rate. Along with the footage, there was a message attached to it as well. A message from James Cameron himself. The Director said, “With the first Avatar, we set out to push the limits of the big screen. With the new Avatar films, we’re pushing those limits even further.” He then highlighted the positive responses to the film in Europe and thanked Chinese film authorities for Avatar’s re-release in 2021.
As we know since March 2021, not a lot of Hollywood films have been releasing in China. The handful of films that were are Secrets of Dumbledore, The Batman, Uncharted and Jurassic World Dominion. The reason for this is speculated to be The Chinese Communist Party’s centennial. The tensions between the US and China is another reason. Along with this the the crackdown on foreign films is because of China’s prioritization of domestically produced films. Naturally, the studio execs in Hollywood are starting to look at China in a different light. Once considered to be one of the biggest international markets but now its dicey territory.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently talked about The Way of Water’s release in China and it looks like despite the heavy investment in the project, he is prepared for the worst. He stated, “We’re pretty confident that even without China, if it were to be that we continue to have difficulties in getting titles in there, that it doesn’t really preclude our success given the relatively lower take rate that we get on the box office in China than we do across the rest of the world.” Avatar: The Way of Water doesn’t have a release date in China yet.
Check out the full Teaser Trailer of Avatar: The Way of Water on YouTube:
Avatar: The Way of Water is slated to release on 16th December 2022.
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