James Cameron’s Avatar Sequels Shut Down Production

March 17, 2020

A number of high-profile film projects including Disney’s forthcoming live-action films have been temporarily put on a production hiatus as the world continues its fight to prevent the COVID-19 (formerly named as Coronavirus) pandemic from further increasing. Today, another big budget film under the House of Mouse has taken a hit with producer Jon Landau officially confirming that production has temporarily shut down for James Cameron’s long-in development Avatar sequels, which have been filming in New Zealand. However, Weta’s work on the films’ visual effects will still push through. Stephen Lang has also confirmed the suspension through Twitter by teasing the fans that the sequels are definitely worth waiting for.

“We’ve delayed it. We had plans to come down Friday night with a group of people and start back up and we made the decision to hold off and continue working here [Los Angeles], and come down there a little bit later than we’d planned.” Landau said in a statement through the New Zealand Herald.

“If I told you we are going to know something in two weeks I’d be lying. I might not be wrong – even a broken clock is right twice a day. But I would be lying because I don’t know… We’re in the midst of a global crisis and this is not about the film industry. I think everybody needs to do now whatever we can do, as we say here, to flatten the [coronavirus] curve.”

Worth the wait. That’s a promise. Oel nagati kameie. https://t.co/HlI5qbVdfh

— Stephen Lang (@IAmStephenLang) March 17, 2020

The cast of the Avatar franchise includes Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel, Jemaine Clement, and Oona Chaplin alongside a slate of young actors. Returning cast members include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, Stephen Lang, Matt Gerald, and Sigourney Weaver.

Cameron recently explained that Stephen Lang’s Colonel Miles Quaritch is coming back for all four sequels and will be the main villain throughout the story. Filming officially started on Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 on September 25, 2017.

After some shuffling of the schedule, Avatar 2 has been pushed back a full year from December 18, 2020, to December 17, 2021. Avatar 3 has been pushed back two years December 17, 2021 to December 22, 2023. Avatar 4 will open two years after that on December 19, 2025 (originally December 20, 2024) and Avatar 5 will drop on December 17, 2027 (originally December 19, 2025). Although Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 will only be released with director James Cameron’s caveat that Avatar 2 and 3 are successful at the box office.

ComingSoon.net recommends all readers comply with CDC guidelines and remain as isolated as possible during this urgent time.