Avatar 2 still a thing, first concept art revealed

James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar was once the highest-grossest movie in the world. Over ten years and one Disney themed land later, a sequel, which hits theaters in 2021, will return audiences to the lush alien world of Pandora.

The first concept art, revealed by Cameron at CES, shows off some new views of Pandora, looking as vibrant and kooky as an early 2000s desktop background.

The second installment to the would-be sci-fi saga was supposed to hit theaters in 2014, but then James Cameron was all like what if we had three sequels AND shot performance capture underwater? Improvements in technology meant bumps in the schedule. Now the first of the first of four planned Avatar sequels is set to premiere on Dec. 18, 2021.

Though the film was shot concurrently with Avatar 3 in 2017, details have been kept quite mum. What we do know is that Avatar 2 takes place years after the first movie, and introduces the next generation of characters: a human child born at the Hell’s Gate military complex, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri’s (Zoe Saldana) children, and the children of a new Na’vi clan. Judging by the lush lagoon landscapes in the concept art, the fact that the cast members had to learn how to dive, and that motion-capture technology had to evolve to shoot underwater, audiences can expect a focus on the Pandoran Ocean.

In addition to Worthington and Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang return to the film. Joining are Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis as members of the new Na’vi clan.

If all the info on Avatar 2 makes you itch for the splendor of the first, Avatar is currently available on Disney Plus. We hear it’s a pretty good basketball movie.