Avatar 2, or Avatar: The Way of Water as it’s now officially titled, is feeling ever more like it’s actually going to come out this year. Despite years of delays, the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron’s sci-fi masterpiece is nearly here. The film debuted its first footage at CinemaCon earlier this week, and by all accounts it was stunning.
Still, Avatar came out over a decade ago, so The Way of Water has its work cut out for it in getting audiences excited again.
Sam Worthington says Avatar 2 will be “marvelous”
Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully in the Avatar movies, a human who ends up transferring his consciousness permanently into his Na’vi avatar by the end of the first film to truly become one of the People. Worthington is currently talking to press about his FX true crime series Under the Banner of Heaven, but now that Disney is pulling the curtain back on Avatar: The Way of Water, he’s talking about that too.
“When I did the first [Avatar], I was 30,” Worthington told Variety. “And when the second one comes out, I’m gonna be pushing 50. In the first one I was in a wheelchair, you know. And by the time we get to the fourth and fifth, I might actually be in a wheelchair by the time we get to do it.”
Regardless of how much time has passed, it doesn’t sound like Worthington’s enthusiasm for the franchise has diminished in the slightest. “It’s great to be a part of such an amazing family and have that longevity,” he said. “Jim is a very loyal man and he keeps the same people on board, but I’m a very small cog in this. There’s a big creative team behind it, and from what I’ve seen, it’s mind-blowing and marvelous what they’re coming up with.”
I don’t doubt Worthington here; the first Avatar movie was revolutionary, and if anyone can replicate that kind of success, it’s James Cameron. It also lines up pretty well with what Zoë Saldana (who plays Jake’s wife Neytiri) said a few months back when she revealed that the first 20 minutes of Avatar 2 moved her to tears.
As for what fans can expect from Avatar: The Way of Water, Worthington hardly felt it warranted an explanation. “It’s a Jim Cameron movie, man, what do you think?”
Fair enough.
Avatar: The Way of Water is coming to theaters on December 16. The original Avatar is expected to rerelease in theaters sometime in September.
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