Avatar: The Way of Water and the other three planned sequels to the 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar will dive deeper into the culture of Pandora's native species, the Na'vi.
With four sequels providing the writers ample opportunity to expand upon the alien species introduced in the original film, Way of Water executive producer Jon Landau revealed where exactly fans can expect details to be added. "With each sequel, we're going to introduce audiences to new cultures and new biomes," Landau said during a recent interview with Variety. Still, Landau noted that just because new Na'vi cultures are introduced doesn't mean those that came before will be forgotten, with the producer adding, "We don't leave behind the cultures that we've met."
Fans were able to dip their toes into The Way of Water's aquatic Na'vi culture during last month's annual D23 Expo. Though footage from the film was screened behind closed doors, official Way of Water concept art surfaced online shortly after, where Na'vi could be seen riding gracefully atop fantastical sea creatures. Landau previously confirmed another species -- the sentient, whale-like tulkun -- is only one of a plethora of underwater fauna native to Pandora. "There are so many sea creatures that people will fall in love with here," the producer teased in a separate interview earlier this year. "The idea was to create a creature that was on the scale of Pandora. So a tulkun is, like, 300 feet long. They are a sentient species and as intelligent in their own way as the Na'vi are in theirs."
Avatar: The Way of Water Hits Theaters in December
With almost 13 years having passed since the original Avatar premiered in theaters, director James Cameron has expressed his worries regarding how The Way of Water will be impacted by the over decade-long gap between between films. "I was a little concerned that I had stretched the tether too far, in our fast-paced, modern world, with Avatar 2 coming in 12 years later," he stated. "Right until we dropped the teaser trailer, and we got 148 million views in 24 hours. There's that scarce seen but wondered at principle, which is, 'Wow, we haven't seen that in a long time, but I remember how cool it was back then.' Does that play in our favor? I don't know. I guess we're going to find out."
Cameron also elaborated on his reason for making so many Avatar movies, saying that the familial connection shared by the cast and crew kept driving him back to Pandora time and time again. "I just look back on everybody's work and just so grateful to have had an opportunity to work with these amazing people," Cameron said. "And I think that's why I promptly went out and wrote another and another and another Avatar. I just wanted to continue with this family, which is such a great, great experience."
Avatar: The Way of Water opens in theaters on Friday, Dec. 16.
Source: Variety