James Cameron was probably hoping for a little more hype for the trailer debut of Avatar 2: The Way of Water, which was released last month, more than 12 years after Avatar hit theaters. The internet responded with a collective yawn (none seemed too impressed at my Thor screening), and some commentators asked if anyone cared about returning to Pandora’s forests and oceans.
It turns out some do. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new promotion was viewed 148.6 million times on the first day of its release. This surpasses the trailers of the most recent Star Wars movies, Incredibles 2 and Black Widow.
People are interested in Pandora, the 3D revolution is still underway, and Cameron’s plan to make another 20 films in the same solar system over the next 400 years is still on track.
Avatar 2 faces challenges, can they be overcome?
While some movie purists complain about Hollywood’s dedication to the superhero genre, movie fans continue to justify the investment in a seemingly endless stream of comic book adaptations.
One year before the 2009 release of Avatar, the era of modern Marvel superhero movies began in earnest with Iron Man. Since then, however, special effects have improved and CGI characters such as Rocket Raccoon (Guardians of the Galaxy, 2014) and Ultron (Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015) are old hat. Does this mean Avatar may have less appeal for audiences who were drawn to the original only for its special effects?
Set on Pandora’s earth-like moon and featuring more of the exotic creatures that captivated fans over a decade ago, Sam Worthington returns as Jake Sully with Zoe Cerdanya as Neytiri to confront a new threat while protecting what they love the most. Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang are set to reprise their role as well.
Avatar recorded the highest box office revenue in history at $2.84 billion worldwide. A restored version of the original Avatar, like the one that came before Cameron’s Titanic, will return to the theatre on September 23.
As Cameron intended, fans will have to pay to see Avatar 2 in the theater for a while, but many expect the film to be released on Disney+ around two months after its theatrical run.
And while the promo for Avatar 2 felt like a technology demo, rather than a trailer, it’s still a few months out – perhaps we’ll have a better idea of what Jake and the Navi are up to when Avatar 2: Trailer 2 is released!
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