'Avatar 2' Cast News, Release Date: James Cameron Shares First Successful Underwater Filming With Young Cast
"Avatar 2" is perhaps one of the most highly-anticipated sequels, but it is not scheduled to premiere until 2020. Now, director James Cameron reveals the reason for the long wait.
While speaking to Collider about the upcoming "Avatar" sequels, of which there are four, Cameron revealed that filming underwater has been a challenge for them. Since the "Avatar" films mostly rely on motion-capture technology, it has been problematic for them to shoot scenes underwater. In fact, the director revealed that they only recently managed to do it successfully for the first time.
"We actually played an entire scene underwater with our young cast. We've got six teenagers and one seven-year-old, and they're all playing a scene underwater. We've been training them for six months now, with how to hold their breath, and they're all up in the two to four minute range," he said.
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The director continued, "They're all perfectly capable of acting underwater, very calmly while holding their breath. We're not doing any of this on scuba. And we're getting really good data, beautiful character motion and great facial performance capture. We've basically cracked the code."
Production on the first two "Avatar" sequels, the yet-to-be-titled "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3," started earlier this year. The two films are being shot simultaneously before moving on to "Avatar 4" and "Avatar 5."
It was also announced in June that Oona Chaplin, who is known for her work on "Game of Thrones" and "Taboo," has joined the cast of the "Avatar" sequels. Chaplin portrays Varang, a spirited and robust character.
Returning cast members including Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana, who respectively portray Jake Sully and Neytiri. Sigourney Weaver, whose character Dr. Grace Augustine seemed to have died in the original 2009 film, is also set to appear. However, it has been said that Weaver will be playing a different role this time around. No details on her character have been revealed yet, though.
"Avatar 2" will premiere in U.S. theaters on Dec. 18, 2020.
