'Avatar 2' Continues 'Virtual Production' In Manhattan Beach

The coronavirus pandemic has led to many movies stopping production, but the work on “Avatar 2” will continue. The film uses CGI extensively, which has allowed the team to continue their work while the live action photography has been stopped.

The cast and crew members of the highly anticipated James Cameron movie were supposed to travel to New Zealand in order to film the relevant scenes there. They had to stop the travel plans and reschedule the production dates because of the cronavirus. However, producer Jon Landau has confirmed in message on Twitter that the “virtual production” of the film will continue.

The CGI work of the upcoming film is taking place in Manhattan Beach in collaboration with Weta Digital for the visual effects. Landau pointed out that this work is in line with the social distancing that is being advocated to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Landau said that the health and safety of the cast and crew of “Avatar 2” is of “paramount importance” and that is why they have delayed the production in New Zealand. The producer added that they are doing their part to flatten the curve of the spread of the virus and he encouraged all the fans to do the same. He also promised to share more production updates in the coming months.

According to Screen Rant, Cameron has already finished a lot of the motion-capture wok with the actors, which means the team involved in the virtual production has enough work on their hands. The team can also wok on building the new alien worlds in Pandora.

As far as the filming in New Zealand is concerned, there is no word yet about when they plan to begin production there. According to Variety, sources at the New Zealand Film Commission have said that the filming has been delayed “until further notice.” More details should be available in the coming weeks.

“Avatar 2” is scheduled to be released on Dec. 17, 2021.