The first Avatar sequel will be called Avatar: The Way of Water, Disney announced Wednesday at CinemaCon, perhaps the biggest indication yet that the long–delayed movie is actually going to be released on December 16th. And we might have even more potential proof soon, as the first teaser trailer is set to debut alongside Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which premieres on May 6th.
Here is Disney’s synopsis of the film, which is quite vague:
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
I would like to call your attention to that “begins to tell” language because The Way of Water isn’t the only Avatar film to look forward to. Avatars 3, 4, and 5 are also in the works, each set to release about two years after the one before it. I’m not quite sure what to expect, but hopefully they’re good; after all, director James Cameron once said the sequels will make you “shit yourself with your mouth wide open.”
The first Avatar came out in 2009, and it remains one of the top-grossing movies of all time. But if you are a little fuzzy on the details of the film — and I can’t blame you if that’s the case — Disney will be re-releasing Avatar in theaters on September 23rd.
