New quotes have offered a surprising filming update for the upcoming Avatar 3.
James Cameron's Pandoran threequel is set to hit theaters in December 2024, as the director sets forth on a path to complete his five-movie sci-fi epic.
The rebounded director has been vocal about how far along Avatar 3 is in the production process, recently revealing it was "essentially in post-production," as filming for the first film started during the production of last year's Avatar: The Way of Water.
However, there is still apparently work to do, with some filming seemingly set for this summer.
An Avatar 3 Filming Update
Avatar 3 star Sigourney Weaver surprised fans with an update on that may put the threequel's release date in question.
Weaver told ScreenRant in a recent interview that "in January, [she goes] back and probably do some pickups" on the upcoming threequel:
“I know that in January, I go back and probably do some pickups, I don’t think there are whole new scenes to be shot. I think it’s going to be refining what [James Cameron’s] got now that he’s closing in on the edit, because he always has too much material. He loves to shoot. I wouldn’t even begin to guess of what we might be doing, but I think it’s just maybe going back to a couple of moments and giving him some footage that he didn’t get the way he wants to.”
This conflicts with Weaver's co-star Zoe Saldana, who said that the team was headed back "this summer [to] finish it up." This January timing could mean reshoots have been pushed back, or could simply be a case of Weaver and Saldana having two different shooting schedules.
What may be worrying to fans is the fact that these pickups with Weaver are happening a mere 11 months before Avatar 3 is supposed to hit theaters.
For reference, Avatar 2 wrapped filming in September 2020, more than two years before its December 2022 release.
Will Avatar 3 Hit December 2024?
For fans eagerly awaiting the next chapter of the Sully clan, this news is going to be worrying.
Seeing as the Avatar films are as reliant on VFX as they are, shooting less than a year before the movie comes out is not a good sign.
James Cameron has prided himself on this effects work in his movies (especially in Avatar) to look as real as possible, making moviegoers feel as though they have truly been transported to another world.
However, given the current VFX backlog and Avatar 3 still needing to film (with some of that taking place at the beginning of next year, that December 2024 release date could be put into question.
Of course, there is no indication as to the extent of these pickups, so there is always the chance that all this worry could be for naught.
Avatar 3 is currently set to release on December 20, 2024.
