James Cameron unveils ‘Avatar 2’ concept art at CES 2020, 1st look explores Pandora’s coastline
'Avatar 2', a film that has long been in the making, finally received a released date after the Disney buy out of 20th Century Fox. Director James Cameron released the concept art of the upcoming film Monday, which takes us back to Pandora, the world that was beautifully portrayed in the 2009 movie 'Avatar'.
The concept art released during a presentation at the 2020 CES in Las Vegas takes audiences beyond what they saw in 'Avatar'. This time around, we are going to see more of the water from what we understand of the concept art.
For instance, one of the four works released features a beautiful rendering of the island with the Na'vi people on their ikrans (mountain banshees) flying over the water. Another image is that of a man and a woman looking out at the horizon together.
For now, we are assuming that this is Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). In all four looks, water plays a key role and connecting this to what Cameron has revealed about the film in the past, it looks like the film will move beyond roots and to the essential element of Earth. You can take a look at the first look concept art here.
Cameron had teased many a time during interviews that 'Avatar 2' will go beyond what people had experienced in 'Avatar'. While discussing casting Kate Winslet, who he had worked with two decades before on 'Titanic', he had also spoken about the extensive underwater sequences that Winslet had to shoot for her part.
He said to Vulture, "She was really excited about doing the water work and at her peak, I think she held her breath for seven-and-a-half minutes — not during the scene but just during the training. She was regularly doing two- or three-minute scenes, underwater acting and swimming."
He had also said 'Avatar 2' and 'Avatar 3' will see a lot of underwater scenes in an interview with Collider. Speaking about training to shoot major parts underwater, he revealed, "Now, we’re still working in our small test tank. We graduate to our big tank in January. There’s a tremendous amount of water work across Avatar 2 and 3. It’s ongoing into 4 and 5, but the emphasis is on 2 and 3."
This also leads us to wonder if Cameron has themed the five movies around the four elements of nature -- Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. The movie will see Zoë Saldana, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver reprise their roles while Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh and Kate Winslet have been added to play new characters. It is slated to release on December 17, 2021.