Some may forget, but the follow-up to the biggest movie of all time is about to hit theaters. Avatar: The Way of Water marks the first of four sequels to James Cameron's 2009 epic, as audiences get set to re-enter the world of Pandora for the first time in more than a decade.
The Way of Water has been a long time coming, with the first conversations between 20th Century Fox and Cameron about the sequel happening early in 2010. Not much has been shown of the film other than a brief teaser that came alongside Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Now as the Avatar 2 promotional train really takes off in earnest, fans eagerly await the next look at the upcoming blockbuster, something that, if recent reports are to be believed, is coming very soon.
An Avatar 2 Trailer Incoming
According to industry insider Amit Chaudhari the next Avatar: The Way of Water trailer is imminent.
Chaudhari, who works in trailer localization, tweeted that "Disney has a few more trailers scheduled before [Black Panther 2]," including a new look at the upcoming Avatar sequel. Chaudhari also noted that the studio's Avatar plans also includes the recently released Avatar Remastered hitting Disney+:
"Hearing Disney has few more trailers scheduled before BP2 opens including Avatar 2.
Also they're planning to add Avatar Remastered version on Disney Plus HS next month."
If a trailer is, in fact, coming very soon it will likely be a part of a much greater marketing plan for The Way of Water, something Disney surely has planned given the investment in James Cameron's sci-fi world.
It has been reported that each Avatar sequel will cost the studio about $250 million, totaling a $1 billion investment across the four follow-ups. It is unknown if that $250 million figure includes marketing costs at this time. Looking back at 2009's original film, the budget was $237 million with $150 million spent on promotion.
Given that it has been quite some time since moviegoers have experienced the world of Avatar it tracks that Disney is going to spend big on promoting the sequel and drumming up hype.
Speaking on the distance between Avatar and Avatar 2, director James Cameron told The New York Times that he very well "could have made a sequel two years later," but thinks he took the right tactic in waiting. The director took a similar approach with past films working on Aliens and Terminator 2, two sequels that came out seven years after the originals.
"I think I could have made a sequel two years later and have it bomb because people didn’t relate to the characters or the direction of the film. My personal experience goes like this: I made a sequel called “Aliens,” seven years after the first movie. It was very well received. I made a sequel called “Terminator 2,” seven years after the first movie. It did an order of magnitude of more, in revenue, than the first film."
Cameron does note that he may have "stretched the tether too far" with Avatar 2, but after having gotten "148 million views in 24 hours" on the film's teaser trailer, he doesn't sound too worried:
"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. 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."
When Exactly Will Avatar: Way of the Water's Trailer Arrive?
So it seems another Way of Water trailer is on the way from Disney and James Cameron. As to when audiences will actually see this sneak peek is still up in the air.
Seeing as Cameron, a director who loves his pomp and circumstance, is involved, it feels like it will not just be dropped online on some random Tuesday. Of course, there is the possibility that Disney could simply release the trailer online, but that feels so anti-Cameron.
The first teaser for the film came exclusively with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, before eventually making its way on YouTube. So if Disney wanted to emulate this strategy, there is another big-budget MCU movie on the horizon to attach another trailer to.
If the Way of Water trailer isn't just shadow-dropped, one can expect it to drop in early November to play alongside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters on December 16.
