James Cameron's Much-Awaited 'Avatar' Sequels Halt Production

The production for all four “Avatar” sequels have been put on hold because of the pandemic that has forced many countries to go into a state of lockdown. Helmed by James Cameron, the shooting for all the four sequels was scheduled to take place in New Zealand.

Speaking in an interview with the New Zealand Herald, John Landau, one of the producers, confirmed that filming has been put on hiatus due to the life-threatening disease. Landau also revealed that the executive team will continue to work in Los Angeles and the team will return to New Zealand when the situation gets better.

The team behind “Avatar” was all set to land in the country on Friday, but they decided to wait so that their staff members and actors would remain safe.

“We have delayed it. We had plans to come down Friday night with a group of people and start back up and we made the decision to hold off and continue working here (Los Angeles) and come down there a little bit later than we had planned,” Landau said.

He further stated that the decision was taken after seeing the worldwide impact of the disease. Landau believes that it is a “global crisis” and people should do whatever they can to curb it.

“We are in the midst of a global crisis and this is not about the film industry. I think everybody needs to do now whatever we can do, as we say her, to flatten the (coronavirus) curve,” Landau said.

The “Avatar” sequels join movies like “Mission: Impossible 7,” “Uncharted,” “Little Mermaid,” “The Batman,” and “Jurassic World: Dominion” that have halted their production due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Before “Avengers: Endgame” became the highest-grossing film ever worldwide, the top spot was previously held by Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar.” The first film in the sci-fi franchise earned a total of $2.78 billion at the box office.

The cast of “Avatar 2” will see the original stars like Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang reprising their roles. Meanwhile, actors like Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, and Vin Diesel have been added to the cast.

“Avatar 2” is scheduled to hit theaters on Dec. 17, 2021, while “Avatar 3” will make its way to the cinema halls in 2023. “Avatar 4” will be released in 2025 and the last movie of the epic saga will be out in 2027.