Producer Jon Landau Says 'Avatar' Sequels are Still Four Years Away

Last we heard, the two planned sequels to James Cameron’s Avatar were due out in 2013 and 2014. However, if today’s news is correct, you might want to hold off on queuing up for tickets anytime soon.

Bleeding Cool caught up with producer Jon Landau after a screening of scenes fromTitanic 3D, and he spilled some very disappointing beans about the sequels to the highest grossing film of all time. According to Landau, the first Avatar sequel is “four years away.”

By that math, we won’t be taking a return trip to the world of Pandora until 2016 (maybe holidays 2015 – that would make sense for a release date as well), which is significantly later than promised. Landau didn’t offer up any reasons for the potential delay, but given that it took Cameron an eternity to make the first film and would be shooting Avatar 2and 3 back-to-back, this isn’t particularly shocking.

Perhaps part of the delay can be attributed to Cameron’s desire to continually push the envelope in terms of technology. Landau says that Avatar 2 will utilize a great deal of advanced filmmaking tech – from the 3D cameras to the motion capture equipment, as well as aiming for a higher framerate than the first feature. While all of that sounds exciting to the tech geeks here on staff, are you happy waiting four more years for a sequel? Let us know below.

Avatar' Sequels Delayed, 2014 Release Date Was 'A Bit Optimistic'

The sequel to the biggest movie of all time has been bumped a couple of times now. While the plan of shooting two films back to back is still on track, the release date forAvatar 2 looks like it will be getting bumped out of its 2014 target date.

Producer Jon Landau spoke with Empire where he admitted that the 2014 release date for Avatar 2 was a bit optimistic.

"We're not really naming dates, but I think 2014 will be a tough date for us to make. For us, it's about getting it right. Movies make release dates, release dates don't make movies."

While we can all appreciate Landau and the Avatar crew doing what is necessary to "get it right" bumping Avatar 2 to 2015 means Avatar 3 most likely won't hit theaters until 2016, a date that seems so far into the future.

Landau adds that WETA has already begun working on the sequels, saying, "We have our core team. We're working on underwater performance capture."

It has been widely reported that Avatar 2 will be set under the seas of Pandora, combining two of James Cameron's passions (the sea and movies) as evidenced in this weekend's re-release of Titanic. That been said, Landau says the underwater action won't dominate the movie.

"It's going to be like the Floating Mountains in the first movie. It's not going to be all underwater; it's going to be a place we go to, leave and come back to."

While the film crew is busy creating more eye-popping creatures, look for Avatar 2 and 3to hit theaters sometime in the next 3-5 years.

James Cameron Shooting Three 'Avatar' Sequels Back-To-Back?

James Cameron’s Avatar remains the highest-grossing film in Hollywood history (though Joss Whedon’s The Avengers is catching up … slowly). Avatar sequels are inevitable. But how many sequels do you think Cameron’s ready to deliver?

According to Sigourney Weaver, Cameron could plan to shoot three Avatar movies back-to-back, giving fans Na’vi adventures in Avatar 2, 3 and 4. The actress revealed this bit of information to Showbiz411 while attending a party on behalf of USA Network’s Political Animals, which finds Weaver playing a Hilary Clinton-esque D.C. powerbroker. But the site asked her about her Avatar work, and the time commitment it will take to shoot three movie back-to-back.

"I just show up," the tight-lipped Weaver said. In other words, "In Jim we trust."

Cameron has gone on record in the past as saying he only plans to make Avatar movies for the rest of his career. And at 57, he easily could spend the next 10 years working onAvatar films and retire, content, at 67. Then again, Cameron and every member of his extended family could retire on Titanic royalties. He never needs to work another day in his life, so we should be thrilled that he still has three Avatar stories in his creative tank.

What do you think? Do you want three more adventures in Pandora? Cameron has hinted he’d like to explore new worlds with each new Avatar film, possibly going underwater for part two (which had a 2014 release date but since has been pushed back to 2015, at the earliest). Where would you like to see this franchise go? And how long are you willing to wait for three Avatar sequels to reach thetaers?

While you wait, plan a trip to the strangest Avatar-inspired nightclub we’ve ever seen. It’s called Avastar, and it’s located in South Africa. The club launched on June 1 (with an appearance by special guest David Hasselhoff!), so if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by … and let us know how it goes.

 

'Avatar' Producer Clarifies James Cameron's Sequel Plans

Avatar rumors have been swirling as James Cameron maps out his plans for the immersive 3D sequels. As we reported weeks ago, Cameron had set up shop in New Zealand to stake out possible locations for his planned Avatar sequels. Then, Showbiz 411 mentioned that Sigourney Weaver was signed on to film not one, not two, but three Avatar sequels back-to-back.

“I just show up,” Weaver told the site, coyly.

Well, over the weekend, Avatar producer Jon Landau – who worked with Cameron on several key projects – clarified Weaver’s statement and laid out the Avatar timeline with a little more clarity.

Landau was speaking with The Courier Post about the upcoming 3D release of Avatar, which they hope will replicate the immersive feeling of exploring Pandora without having to leave our living rooms.

But in the interview, Landau clarified that Cameron is “doing two [movies] back-to-back, but not a third.”

So Avatar 4 isn’t exactly on the director’s radar at the moment. Which makes sense. Cameron is 58. He’d be 60 when Avatar 2 hit theaters in December 2014 (as planned), and 61 when part three follows up in December 2015. Those dates even seem a little presumptuous, given the fact that Cameron hasn’t begun filming and likely has only explored pre-production on the next Avatar films. Will he want to commit to the Herculean task of having to produce a third Avatar sequel after pouring his creative energies into back-to-back features?

We’ll see. If the films make as much as the original – still the highest-grossing film in the world – then Landau and 20th Century Fox will want 10 Avatar sequels. But time will tell how many Pandora stories Cameron has in his tank.

James Cameron Talks 'Avatar' Scripts, Says Sequels Might Go 48 Frames Per Second

James Cameron has been talking up his planned Avatar sequels for some time now, though little movement has been made toward actual pre-production. He’s set up shop in New Zealand, and reportedly is fine-tuning the scripts for back-to-back shootings onAvatar 2 and 3. But while attending the world premiere for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbitearlier, Cameron finally tipped his hand as to when the Avatar train might get rolling again.

Cameron told New Zealand Radio that he wants to be finished tinkering with his screenplays in February, with the intent of lensing the first sequel in late 2013.

"I want to get these scripts nailed down. I don't want to be writing the movie in post production," Cameron said. "We kind of did that on the first picture, I ended up cutting out a lot of scenes and so on and I don't want to do that again."

And while many point to Cameron’s Avatar as the picture that heralded the return of 3D (or, at least, proper use of 3D), the director is hinting that he might use the sequels to continue the advancement of 48 frames-per-second, which Jackson is using on The Hobbit.

"If there is acceptance of 48, then that will pave the way for Avatar (sequels) to take advantage of it," Cameron said to the media. "We charged out ahead on 3D with Avatar, now Peter's doing it with the Hobbit. It takes that kind of bold move to make change.”

But he’ll lie back and see how audiences feel about the visual presentation first. Cameron’s smart.

Either way, the Avatar sequels are coming, likely in 2014 ... and maybe in 48 fps. Are you excited?

'Avatar' Actress Says Sequels Filming Back-To-Back in 2014

Zoe Saldana can proudly claim to be part of some massive movie franchises. She’s about to play Uhura for the second time in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness. She recently signed up to co-star in Marvel’s The Guardians of the Galaxy. And now she’s setting the stage for not one but two Avatar movies, which should begin shooting in 2014.

At least, that’s what the actress said on “The Jonathan Ross Show” (via Digital Spy). Saldana even suggested that James Cameron would film Avatar 2 and 3 back-to-back.

“Because if we just do two and then wait, I'll probably be 45 or 50 by the time we get to part three. It takes a long time, it's a very hard process.”

Of course, Cameron has been teasing these movies for a long time now. Avatar came out in 2009 … back when Sam Worthington was still a movie star. If Cameron starts filming the next Avatar story in 2014, will we see it in theaters before 2016? Could he make a Christmas Day, 2015 release date? As Saldana says, these movie take time.

But if the cast is discussing a shoot schedule, that might mean Cameron has cracked the scripts for parts two and three, as well as the technology needed to complete the vision he has for his return to Pandora.

Zoe Saldana Explains James Cameron's Challenge On 'Avatar' Sequels

Zoe Saldana has found herself in high demand for info on some of the biggest movie franchises today. Not only is she in "Star Trek Into Darkness," which opens in theaters next week, and "Guardians of the Galaxy," one of Marvel's movies for 2014, she will also be at the center of two "Avatar" sequels, as soon as James Cameron finishes the screenplays, that is.



During the press junket for "Star Trek Into Darkness," MTV News' Josh Horowitz spoke with Saldana about how the scripts were coming along and if she knew what Cameron was doing on that New Zealand farm of his.

Read what she had to say after the jump!



"We've emailed, but I know that he's sort of been removing himself from things that might distract him so that he can focus on doing the final tweaks on the scripts," Saldana said. "He did share that he's in a very interesting and fragile place, because he story is dictating itself."

That fragility, Saldana explains, comes from the strength of the first "Avatar" movie. If Cameron hadn't made such strong characters in the original film, he would have an easier time making them do what he wants in the sequel.

"You walk a fine line when you're the creator of the story you're going to tell, of the manipulation that you may have unconsciously of the story and the characters versus allowing the story to unfold it, because you did create such a monumental and solid platform that they're just living and breathing organisms and they're the ones that need to make their own decisions," Saldana said. "I'm geek talking right now, but that's how intense it affects me and how I feel about amazing storytellers like James Cameron and J.J. Abrams. They create things that are real out of unimaginable scenarios, and that is beautiful to me."

"Star Trek Into Darkness" opens in theaters on May 16.