‘Avatar 2’ Delayed Again, Won’t Hit Theaters in 2017 as Planned
In news that will likely come as a surprise to absolutely no one, James Cameron’s Avatar 2 has been delayed yet again, and will no longer hit theaters in December 2017 as previously planned. This news comes on the heels of Disney’s decision to delay Star Wars: Episode VIII until December 2017, which would have pitted the two blockbusters against one another (unfortunately not in a fight to the death, Gladiator-style).
The Wrap reports that Avatar 2 has been delayed again, though it’s hardly shocking given the size and scope of Cameron’s plans, and his desire to shoot all three sequels back to back in order to release them all a year apart. The director previously said that hitting that December 2017 date wasn’t as important to him as making sure that he could release a new Avatar sequel annually.
It’s highly doubtful that Cameron was scared off by Episode VIII, given that The Force Awakens has yet to overtake the first Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time at the worldwide box office. Episode VIII is now hitting theaters on December 15, 2017, while Avatar 2 would have arrived on December 25 — a full 10 days later, but that still would have seen Star Wars biting into Cameron’s box office.
As of now, 20th Century Fox has not rescheduled the Avatar 2 release, and we still know very little about Cameron’s plans for the sequels. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver are all expected to return, and there will be some underwater filming. And…that’s it. We’ll keep you posted on further developments, but given that Cameron has been promising Avatar 2 for the last several years, we’re not really sure when we’ll see this thing.