Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) (1 Viewer)

[Johnny Angell]

I'm pretty sure I read something somewhere at some point saying that she would play a different character, although I don't remember where I read it so I can't say whether that's actually accurate or not. Certainly it is something tha the movie willneed to address one way or the other.

I can find some sense in that. The transfer someone else into her avatar. That could make for some uncomfortable relationships with other characters.

 

[dpippel]

Some concept art from the sequels has been released:

 

[Malcolm R]

Looks like some excellent opportunities for well-done 3D in those examples.

 

[Keith Cobby]

It's going to flop. The first film took so much money but it is just not referred to these days. Never included in any lists etc, it has been forgotten. In the meantime wish he would hurry up with True Lies.

 

[Sam Favate]

Avatar 2 now scheduled for 2022. A3 will come in 2024, A4 in 2026, and A5 in 2028. Seems crazy that we are planning out that far, but there it is.

Disney delays 'Mulan' indefinitely, Star Wars and Avatar movies pushed back a year

Disney is making some major changes to its release calendar that include displacing "Mulan" from its Aug. 21 release and pushing back the debuts of future Star Wars and Avatar movies by a year.

www.cnbc.com

 

[TravisR]

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see when this thread started and it was April 14, 2016 and Avatar 2 had a release date of December 16, 2020. When it was originally announced in 2010, they wanted to get it out in 2014 (with the third set for 2015) so it'll be 8 years later than originally scheduled. Maybe.

By the time he finishes these movies, it'll have been 26 years since he made a non-Avatar feature and he'll be 69 years old and that assumes that he somehow manages to stay on this new schedule.

To amend my post from four years ago, by the time he finishes these movies, it'll have been 31 years since he made a non-Avatar feature and he'll be 74 years old and he definitely didn't manage to stay on the new schedule.

 

[WillG]

Avatar 2 now scheduled for 2022. A3 will come in 2024, A4 in 2026, and A5 in 2028. Seems crazy that we are planning out that far, but there it is.

Disney delays 'Mulan' indefinitely, Star Wars and Avatar movies pushed back a year

Disney is making some major changes to its release calendar that include displacing "Mulan" from its Aug. 21 release and pushing back the debuts of future Star Wars and Avatar movies by a year.

www.cnbc.com

So with an extra year, perhaps Cameron can finally get around to approving transfers for The Abyss and True Lies (had to be said)

 

[YanMan]

So with an extra year, perhaps Cameron can finally get around to approving transfers for The Abyss and True Lies (had to be said)

Seems half the people replying to his twitter update about this delay are saying the same thing. Maybe he will finally get the hint!

 

[dpippel]

So with an extra year, perhaps Cameron can finally get around to approving transfers for The Abyss and True Lies (had to be said)

I seriously doubt it. I don't believe for one minute that "I don't have the time" is the real reason Cameron hasn't facilitated the release of these two films.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I seriously doubt it. I don't believe for one minute that "I don't have the time" is the real reason Cameron hasn't facilitated the release of these two films.

If I had my guess its that it has more to do with the apparent falling out he had with Van Ling some time ago.

 

[Keith Cobby]

According to the IMDB he has been working on other projects alongside the Avatar sequels, so he clearly could have given the green light to a True Lies 4k disc. There is chatter about a TL television series. I have no interest in the Avatar films and don't own any of his other films.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

He’s just not a backwards looking guy. He made the movie, he moved on from it. I really, genuinely do not believe, and have seen no evidence to suggest, that there are any ulterior motives at play here. He’s made Fox a ton of money over the years so whether by handshake or contractual agreement, they’re not going to put out a product he hasn’t approved. As he’s worked on other things, the market for such products has almost entirely evaporated, making it a low priority for the studio. You’ve got a studio that no longer has a market incentive to make this product, and a filmmaker with approval rights who doesn’t see it as a high priority either, so it just stays in a limbo of sorts. It’s inertia, not malice.

 

[TravisR]

He’s just not a backwards looking guy. He made the movie, he moved on from it. I really, genuinely do not believe, and have seen no evidence to suggest, that there are any ulterior motives at play here. He’s made Fox a ton of money over the years so whether by handshake or contractual agreement, they’re not going to put out a product he hasn’t approved.

Yeah and if you look at his catalog movies that have come out on Blu-ray, there's been some kind of outside reason for its release- there a sequel was coming (The Terminator), it was part of a box set (Aliens), there was a 3-D theatrical re-release (Titanic) or the movie was with a company that is too small for Cameron to ever work with again (Terminator 2, Piranha II). It seems like when he's "forced" by circumstances like those, he gets involved and when there is nothing to force a release, he's not interested in looking backward.

 

[SamT]

This has nothing to do with looking backwards. You make movies so people can see. These are the work of your life. You want them to be out there to be seen and in the best condition possible.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Pretty much. Terminator was going to be remastered by MGM with or without him. They were going to do an Aliens box set with or without him. They were going to do a Terminator 2 conversion to 3D with or without him. Titanic in 3D was a passion project for him.

Yeah and if you look at his catalog movies that have come out on Blu-ray, there's been some kind of outside reason for its release- there a sequel was coming (The Terminator), it was part of a box set (Aliens), there was a 3-D theatrical re-release (Titanic) or the movie was with a company that is too small for Cameron to ever work with again (Terminator 2, Piranha II). It seems like when he's "forced" by circumstances like those, he gets involved and when there is nothing to force a release, he's not interested in looking backward.

Pretty much. Terminator was going to be remastered by MGM with or without him. They were going to do an Aliens box set with or without him. They were going to do a Terminator 2 conversion to 3D with or without him. Titanic in 3D was a passion project for him.

This has nothing to do with looking backwards. You make movies so people can see. These are the work of your life. You want them to be out there to be seen and in the best condition possible.

I understand what you’re saying but that’s not the way Cameron operates. Each film was a job that represented a portion of his life and when it ended he moved on to the next thing. Most of us regular folks don’t spend a lot of time revisiting a job we held 30 years ago; I don’t think it’s surprising that some filmmakers feel the same way.

He makes these movies as big cutting edge theatrical entertainments to be experienced by millions; that’s where his focus lies.

Just as you’re baffled that Cameron isn’t that interested in spending effort on his old projects is probably equalled by how baffled he’d be at your interest in having new editions. It doesn’t make either of you wrong but you each have very different approaches to the material.

 

[Jake Lipson]

He makes these movies as big cutting edge theatrical entertainments to be experienced by millions; that’s where his focus lies.

In that case, he should just let Disney release them on their own. (These are both Fox titles, correct?) Knock on wood in regards to Cameron, but there are plenty of films whose directors have passed away who are not around to approve Blu-ray masters of their old titles. The studios for the most part do a good job. If Cameron doesn't want to participate, that's fine, but if that is his choice then he should stop preventing other people from doing the release without him.

 

[dpippel]

You can rationalize Cameron's lack of interest in these two films as much as you'd like IMO. It would take MINIMAL effort on his part to get this done. I'll again point out the fact that the state they're in now - ancient, low quality releases - is far worse than anything even an automated system could produce for Blu-ray or 4K in the year 2020. That doesn't seem to bother him though.

As for not being marketable, True Lies features one of the most bankable action stars to ever hit Hollywood near the height of his career in the leading role, once again working with the guy who put him on the map in The Terminator and came back with him to do Terminator 2. The Abyss was his second big-budget film, coming off of Aliens, was pioneering for its special effects and practical filming work, and notorious for the difficulty of its production. There are dozens of far lesser movies (Flash Gordon anyone?) that have somehow made their way to at LEAST Blu-ray, and many to 4K UHD. IMO both of these titles would make some good bank with a minimal investment of time and cash.

Cameron's reluctance to do anything is vexing. Fans of both films have been clamoring for updated, modern releases for years and years, but it falls on deaf ears. People buying tickets to his movies are responsible for putting Jim Cameron where he is today. It would be nice if he took just a little bit of his time to do something for THEM, whatever his personal reasons are for being so stand-offish about it.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The work on The Abyss is done; they did a twitter post from the facility from when Cameron was sitting in to supervise it. That it hasn’t come out on physical media yet is probably due to Cameron’s next film not being completed; the studio wants to tie it in to a current release. In the meantime it’s been on different cable and subscription streaming services where it’s probably been seen by more people than would buy a disc in today’s media environment. There’s a rather good HD master of True Lies that plays under similar circumstances. The studio gets more licensing it out for that than a disc so I can see how it’s not a top priority for them.

I’m not saying I consider this ideal; I’m just pointing out why I think things are at where they’re at.

 

[dpippel]

At this point I'd even be happy with streaming versions that I could purchase, Josh. If that work has already been done, why not put them out for sale? There are tons of films of this age that are available both for digital purchase and shown on subscription streaming services. It's not like these two movies are making a company like HBO tons of money due to exclusivity.

 

[Malcolm R]

Then all he needs to do is tell Disney/Fox, "Go ahead and release them. I don't care." We don't need his input if he's not interested in revisiting them. Disney is capable of creating an HD version and putting out the discs.