This December, get pulled back into the immersive world of Pandora which has just become more expansive in the upcoming film Avatar: The Way of Water.
James Cameron’s sequel to his record-breaking blockbuster is hitting Philippine cinemas this December 14. As the trailer reveals, we’ll get to see Jake Sully and Neytiri as they raise their family in Pandora, but when a new threat looms close, their tribe must once again band together to protect their precious home.
Before the film arrives in cinemas this week, we’ve rounded up some interesting facts about the movie that you might want to know about! Check them out below:
1. It took thirteen years for the second film to come out, but with three more sequels in tow.
The first Avatar film came out in December 2009, so it took about 13 years for its follow-up to arrive in cinemas. But while it took that long, fans of the first movie are also promised three more sequels, with each sequel releasing every two years, expanding the franchise into a five-part film series.
However, director Cameron also noted that they might cut off this five-part film franchise into a trilogy if the sequel underperforms. “The market could be telling us we’re done in three months, or we might be semi-done, meaning: ‘OK, let’s complete the story within movie three, and not go on endlessly,’ if it’s just not profitable,” Cameron told TOTAL FILM.
2. A new clan and a human kid in Pandora.
Two interesting details have been unveiled about The Way of Water. One is that there will be a new clan to be introduced, the Metkayina Clan who are reef-dwellers and are distinguishable with their slightly different skin colors.
Another interesting detail is that there’s a human child running around Pandora alongside the Na’vi. In an interview between Empire Magazine and Cameron, it was revealed that the boy’s name is Spider, a human orphan that Jake and Neytiri had taken in to join their family.
3. Familiar faces and new characters.
The sequel has brought back many of the lead cast, such as Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang. Also joining them are new members of the cast such as Cliff Curtis who plays Metkayina’s leader Tonowari; Kate Winslet as Tonowari’s wife Ronal; Michelle Yeoh as Dr. Karina Mogue; Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore; Jemain Clement as Dr. Ian Garvin; and Brendan Cowell as Mick Scoresby.
Meanwhile, the young cast includes Jack Champion as Spider, Jamie Flatters as Neteyam, Britain Dalton as Lo’ak, Trinity Bliss as Tukterey, Bailey Bass as Tsireya, and Filip Geljo as Aonung.
4. Stephen Lang Sigourney Weaver have returned.
Those who can clearly remember the first film might have some questions about Stephen Lang and Sigourney Weaver’s return since they were supposed to be dead by the end of Avatar. Lang explains the return of his character, now inside an Avatar, and how the film addresses his resurrection.
“He’s a genetically-engineered autonomous avatar,” Lang told Empire Magazine. “He has been downloaded with the mind, the emotions, and even more interestingly, possibly the spirit of Quaritch. Now, that’s all pretty esoteric stuff. He comes with a full memory bank up until the time he actually undergoes the DNA transfer. So there are certain things that he doesn’t have any memory of at all. He has no memory of his death.”
Meanwhile, Weaver who played Dr. Grace Augustine in the first film is back as Jake and Neytiri’s adopted teenage daughter Kiri, who was born of Grace’s Avatar and has a continued connection with her.
“There’s definitely a transfer of the curiosity and the love of nature,” Weaver told Screen Rant. “Grace much prefers to be in Avatar form and be out in the forest and studying things, and I think Kiri has a different way of expressing all that. She is just one with nature. And where that comes from, I’m not sure. But it’s very much in the script, and luckily in the movie, you will get to see her try to make more of a connection with Grace.”
5. The cast had to train in free diving, and Kate Winslet lasted the longest underwater.
It has been revealed that while filming The Way of Water, the cast had to perform inside giant water tanks frequently to make the underwater scenes appear more realistic on the big screen. As director Cameron told The New York Times, they hired the world’s best breath-hold specialists to help the cast learn how to “free dive” and stay underwater during takes.
And the cast delivered. Kate Winslet, particularly, held her breath for seven minutes underwater, beating Tom Cruise’s six-minute breath-hold stunt when filming Mission: Impossible– Rogue Nation.
Avatar: The Way of Water opens in cinemas nationwide this Wednesday, December 14. Book your seats in advance and buy your tickets here.
