Avatar: The Way of Water‘s Latest Trailer Is Pure James Cameron

Image: Disney

In James Cameron’s career to this point, he’s made exactly three sequels. One, Piranha II, was his first film. It gets a pass. The other two, Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, are inarguably two of the best sequels ever made. That’s why, with only a few short weeks until Cameron’s next film—another sequel—you’d be completely warranted to start getting maybe just a little bit excited.

That sequel, of course, is Avatar: The Way of Water, a follow-up to Cameron’s 2009 film, which remains the highest-grossing movie of all time. And if Cameron’s track record with sequels isn’t enough to get you interested, Disney has just the thing. A brand new trailer was just released that cracks open the world of the sequel even more and reveals that Cameron might just outdo himself. which would be saying something.

Tickets for the movie are currently available wherever tickets are sold, and the original movie is back on Disney+ after a successful theatrical rerelease. Additionally, there is a spooky new Snapchat filter and Amazon Alexa integration whereby if you ask Alexa to enable the “Avatar” theme, a tonne of stuff becomes available. For another experience, you might ask Alexa to “teach me Navi.”

Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet are among the cast members of Avatar: The Way of Water, which Cameron both directed and co-wrote. It debuts on December 16 in cinemas. The third Avatar movie, which has no title yet, is currently scheduled for release on December 20, 2024.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.

Avatar 2’ Is So Expensive It Must Become the ‘Fourth or Fifth Highest-Grossing Film in History’ Just to Break Even

How expensive is “Avatar: The Way of Water”? Early reports have claimed the production budget alone was in the $250 million range, but director James Cameron isn’t willing to give a hard number just yet. The only answer Cameron would give about the sequel’s budget when asked by GQ magazine was the following: “Very fucking [expensive].”

Cameron apparently told Disney and 20th Century Studios executives that his sequel budget was so high it represented “the worst business case in movie history.” According to the director’s estimates, “you have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history. That’s your threshold. That’s your break even.”

On the current chart of highest-grossing movies worldwide (unadjusted for inflation), Cameron’s original 2009 “Avatar” ranks at the top with $2.9 billion. Disney’s “Avengers: Endgame” is in second position with $2.7 million, while Cameron’s “Titanic” remains in the third slot with $2.1 billion. That means, according to Cameron, that if “Avatar: The Way of Water” wants to break even, it’ll need to overtake either “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($2.07 billion) or “Avengers: Infinity War” ($2.05 billion) in the fourth or fifth slots, respectively.

Only five movies have ever crossed the $2 billion mark worldwide, unadjusted for inflation. While the pandemic has affected moviegoing, films like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.9 billion) and “Top Gun: Maverick” ($1.4 billion) have managed to turn huge profits, so there’s hope for “The Way of Water.”

The original “Avatar” grossed $785 million domestically and sits at number four on the all-time U.S. box office chart, unadjusted for inflation. In the fifth slot is “Top Gun: Maverick” with $716 million domestic.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” opens in theaters on Dec. 16.