Disney unveiled the first images of the sequel on Wednesday in Las Vegas.Avatar, which remains number one at the worldwide box office in terms of receipts, a film which, according to its director James Cameron, will “push the limits of what cinema can do”. CinemaCon attendees were asked to don 3D glasses to immerse themselves in the trailer from Avatar: The Way of Water and return to the planet Pandora where they could see its blue-skinned inhabitants swimming and soaring through the air.
“I can assure you that it was worth the wait,” said Disney distribution manager Tony Chambers, confirming the title chosen for this second “Avatar” installment.
“An even bigger epic saga”
Avatar: The Way of Water will be on screens next December and should be followed by three other episodes of this saga, whose original film has raised some 2.8 billion dollars since its release in 2009. Each part will be a film independent of the others, with its own plot. The four episodes won’t be part of a story arc but, taken together, will represent “an even bigger epic saga,” said producer Jon Landau.
It’s from New Zealand, where James Cameron is putting the finishing touches to Avatar 2, which the director addressed to CinemaCon attendees. He promised them spectacular technological advances compared to the first Avatarwhose main protagonists Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) now have families.
“We have decided once again to push the limits of what cinema can do”, he launched to the bosses of cinemas, gathered in Las Vegas for their annual gathering where Hollywood studios bring them their novelties and their stars.
Many super-productions to come
It was Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige who opened the presentation for Disney. Participants were thus able to discover long excerpts from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which comes out next week, where the wizard played by Benedict Cumberbatch battles flying octopuses and meets a teenage girl jumping from one world to another. The film will be followed this year by two other super-productions devoted to famous superheroes, Thor and Black Panther.
Pixar unveiled thirty minutes of its Buzz Lightningstory tracing the birth of the intrepid astronaut of the saga Toy Story, to which Chris Evans lends his voice. In the film, slated for release in June, Buzz is wracked with guilt after causing his fellow space rangers to sink on a hostile planet. To try to rescue them, he must project himself into the future, with a cat-robot as his companion.
CinemaCon also saw the presentation from amsterdama romantic and detective film set in the 1930s with a host of stars including Christian Bale, Robert De Niro, Margot Robbie and Chris Rock.