Although I'm unsure whether audiences are really prepared for more AVATAR movies, it seems that we're going to get them whether we want it or not. At the very least, I suppose it will be interesting to see just how much progress has been made over the past decade when it comes to motion-capture and 3D. Both AVATAR 2 and AVATAR 3 have been in production for close to a year, but we still have a bit of a wait ahead of us until the first sequel hits theaters. AVATAR producer Jon Landau recently spoke with Inside the Magic about the franchise, and although most of the discussion centered on the Disney theme park attraction, Landau did drop a few hints on what we can expect from the upcoming sequels.
As we’ve moved on with the sequels to “Avatar” we made a very conscious decision to stage the whole four sequels on Pandora. We don’t need to go to another world if we want water, we’re going to go to the oceans of Pandora.
Jon Landau added that some of the new creatures which show up on the AVATAR 3D flying simulator, Flight of Passage, will also likely show up in the sequels as well. The producer also said that the sequels will go to "totally different environments, we’re going to meet different cultures. Just like our planet is as diverse culturally as we are environmentally. We want to introduce people to different cultures. In the first movie, we only met the Omaticaya clan, and they are the clan here allowing us to come to the Valley of Mo’ara. But as we venture out we’re going to different environments and different clans." We know that one of those new clans will be the Metkayina reef people clan led by Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), who will be featured heavily in the first sequel.
Director James Cameron has previously said that his AVATAR saga will take a few notes from THE GODFATHER series. "It’s a generational family saga. It’s very different from the first film. In terms of the storytelling, I found myself — not for any reasons of the zeitgeist or what was popular — but I found myself, as a father of five, starting to think about, ‘What would an “Avatar” story be like if it was a family drama? If it was 'The Godfather?'" Cameron said. "Obviously, a very different genre, very different story, but I got intrigued by that idea… What happens when warriors that are willing to go on suicide charges and leap off cliffs on to the back of big orange toruks — what happens when they grow up and have their own kids?. It becomes a very different story. Now the kids are the risk-takers and the change-makers."
AVATAR 2 is slated for a December 18, 2020 release, with the sequels potentially following on December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024, and December 19, 2025.