It took 10 years for any movie to temporarily unseat James Cameron's Avatar from its spot on top of the global box office rankings and even longer for a movie to set a new local box office record. During that span, a sequel to the 2009 record-setting sci-fi epic has never been released. But, the good news is that Avatar 2 will be here soon enough.
In a THR interview, 20th Century Fox President Steve Asbell did not hesitate to confirm when asked if Avatar 2 will hit theaters on December 16. In addition, Asbell appears very confident that Disney will "do an incredible job" in getting audiences interested to see a new Avatar movie because of how the original "was a really important cultural moment for audiences." Asbell added that he doesn't "think it will be hard to convince people to come back."
Of course, thinking one thing and seeing another thing happen isn't unusual, especially in the film industry.
Having said that, Asbell's confidence that the Avatar sequel will premiere later this year is good news, to say the least. Disney initially had big plans for multiple Avatar sequels with at least two having already been released by now. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic affected production and forced the studio to push the sequel's original release date back from 2021 with the first set of images from Avatar 2 coming in December.
To date, Avatar is still the highest-grossing film of all time at $2.85 billion, following a re-release in China in 2021. After the Avatar sequel drops in December, Disney has at least three more sequels in the pipeline. Of course, while Asbell's confidence in Avatar 2 is encouraging, we doubt Disney will pursue the other films if the sequel doesn't do well, both critically and commercially.
A lot has changed since 2009 and Avatar is probably not beloved enough to cash in on the nostalgia hype that has carried so many other films in recent memory. It will be disastrous for all parties involved if Avatar 2 underperforms. But, if there's one thing that Cameron can bank on, he can wow audiences with stunning imagery and visuals, which is one department that Avatar 2 will most likely excel in.
Only time will tell if Avatar 2 can soar as high as the 2009 film or if it will end up falling flat on its face in December.
