For a decade James Cameron promised fans a sequel to Avatar. And for most of that decade, we wondered if the sequel would be embraced the way the first one was. Now that we have confirmation that, yes, in fact, people do care about Avatar 2 to the tune of $2 billion global box office dollars. You can be sure everybody from fans to the Walt Disney Company are looking forward to the release of Avatar 3. And in a massive change of pattern, it looks like the next movie in the franchise is still coming out when they last told us.
Avatar 3, like Avatar 2 has had so many release dates over the last decade that it’s hard to keep track of them all. From screenwriting delays to filming schedules to global pandemics, it seems that every time James Cameron opened his mouth to talk about Avatar in recent years it was to push the movie back. But in a recent conversation with New Zealand’s 1 News, Cameron confirmed a Christmas 2025 release date for Avatar 3 is still the plan. He said…
We’re into a very hectic two years of post-production right now, so it’ll be Christmas of ’25.
In most cases, “the movie is still on schedule” wouldn’t be news, but with Avatar it’s necessary to make such an exception. As recently as this past summer Avatar 3 was delayed from its planned release in 2024 to 2025. Of course, the thing really working in Avatar 3’s favor is the fact that principal photography is done, and has been for some time. The movie filmed alongside Avatar: The Way of Water. So one part that takes time (and is the most likely to be delayed by outside factors) is over.
The post-production process isn’t likely to be hit with any unexpected delays, and so while it will be two more years before Avatar 3 arrives, anything short of a second global pandemic isn’t likely to slow that process down. And the movie is far enough out that the recent shuffling of release dates for other upcoming Disney movies, brought about by the recent actors and writers strike, is unlikely to cause delays all the way down the calendar to where Avatar is. Of course, considering the time and care that the Avatar movies appear to take with post-production. It’s possible the movie could just end up needing more time. We shall see.
Thus far Avatar 3 details are pretty slight, but we know the story will introduce the Ash People, a tribe of Na’vi that live in the volcanic mountains of Pandora. Oona Chaplin has joined the Avatar 3 cast as the leader of the tribe. The movie might have a title, as Avatar: The Seed Bearer was the movie’s tentative title at one point. What exactly that means, we’ll have to wait a couple more years to learn.