The Way Of Water: The Real Reason Avatar 2 Took So Long

Avatar 2 arrived in December 2022, 13 years after the original. Why did it take James Cameron so long to follow up on his landmark sci-fi epic Avatar?

Given the massive success of the sequel, many people are wondering why Avatar: The Way of Water took so long to hit theaters. Avatar was released in 2009, not only being nominated for Best Picture but also eventually becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time. Its success seemed to guarantee more to come and James Cameron always talked about an extensive franchise within Pandora and the world of the Na'vi, yet 13 years passed before Avatar 2 was finally released. So why did Avatar 2 take so long?

With Avatar 2 releasing on streaming, people will be revisiting the blockbuster or checking it out for the first time. With the long wait to finally see it, it is hard to believe Avatar 2 is actually available to watch at home. Some doubted the movie would actually happen at all with multiple delays and questions about the lasting impact of the original. While Avatar 2's box office success has silenced many of those doubters, it was still a surprisingly long wait to finally see the movie hit theaters.

Avatar 2's Incredibly Long Production Journey Explained

When James Cameron first began talking about more movies in this world, few could have guessed how long between Avatar and Avatar 2 fans would actually have to wait. Avatar's sci-fi epic that soon became the highest-grossing film of all time, Avatar was considered a game-changer in 2009, one that lay the foundations for the special effects-heavy franchise blockbusters of today. Quickly after that flush of success – with a whopping $2.788bn in the bank – Cameron and Fox announced two sequels, which is hardly surprising given Cameron had been talking about plans to make the film a franchise if the first one was successful enough all the way back in 2006.

That sequel number soon expanded to four, but filming on the projects themselves was slow to happen. Shooting days were set, then delayed repeatedly. Now, however, the first of the four Avatar sequels is finally out, despite all the Way of Water delays. Originally scheduled for 2014 and 2015, Avatar 2 and Avatar 3's release dates were then changed to December 2020 and 2021 before more Way of Water delays, changing the date to December 2022 and December 2024, respectively.

Avatar 2 features Jake and Ney'tiri's family and explore different regions of Pandora, with a special focus on a location that exists underwater. Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 are currently scheduled for theatrical release in December 2026 and December 2028, respectively. After 13 years, the Avatar sequels all the way up to Avatar 5 are finally coming, but they're incredibly late in the game. At over a decade between films, entire franchises like The Hunger Games and Fantastic Beasts ran their course between the release of Avatar and Avatar 2. However, why Avatar 2 took so long was because of the massive undertaking of the production.

Avatar 2's long-anticipated trailer offered several key pieces of information about the sequel, including its once-again groundbreaking CGI. It's been no secret that James Cameron's sequel would make heavy use of pioneering underwater filming technology. This contributed to why Avatar 2 took so long to make, a necessary endeavor since Avatar: The Way of Water introduced a new Na'vi tribe, the Metkayina, who live around and in Pandora's ocean. That's not the only reason over a decade passed between Avatar and Avatar 2 though.

There were several causes, but the main one is simple — James Cameron didn't rush. The Avatar franchise has always been known as a deeply personal project for Cameron, and it's possible the pentalogy will be his magnum opus by the time it's complete. As well as waiting for technology to catch up to his vision, James Cameron also made sure the story for The Way of Water solidified. Cameron's not been shy about the fact he has an arc planned for all five Avatar movies. Cooking up such a long multi-movie narrative takes time, and James Cameron is more than aware of just how liable franchises are to fail when stories are constructed on an installment-by-installment basis.