The D23 Expo 2022 was full of surprises as various upcoming projects were unveiled at the event. Though not in attendance at the event, the D23 Expo 2022 witnessed Oscar winning director James Cameron publicly deliver a special video message that had fans of his upcoming Avatar film more than ecstatic. While giving the update on Avatar 4, Cameron also updated Expo attendees on Avatar 3, saying filming was continuing.
He also hinted that while Avatar 2 is still in post-production, the filming of Avatar 4 is going well and that the material from Weta FX, who are in charge of the film's CGI and other visual effects, looked spectacular. Cameron went on to say, "I'm super excited to be finally finishing up movie two. I know everyone's been waiting a long time. Hopefully, we'll show something today, and you can decide if it's been worth it."
After the updates, he screened 3D scenes from Avatar: The Way of Water which features the beautiful world of the Na'vi. It also showed combat in the woods of Pandora, a conversation and argument between Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington's characters, and more strife between the Na'vi. Saldana and Worthington's characters are parents in the film, which goes with the movie's theme of "protecting family," Worthington said on the Expo stage.
The first Avatar film long held the record for the highest-grossing movie of all time, with Cameron overtaking his own film, Titanic. Avatar is set in the 22nd century, around 2154 when Earth's natural resources were depleted. Because of this, humans colonize Pandora, a moon of a gas-giant planet, to mine Unobtainium, a valuable mineral. This mining and colony expansion threatens the Na'vi, a tribe of humanoid creatures native to the moon. A marine remotely operates a genetically engineered Na'vi body and uses this body to interact with the Pandora natives. Along the way, he learns appreciation for the Na'vi and falls in love with a member of the tribe.
Avatar has been planned to theatrically re-release in its remastered version on September 23. The second installment, Avatar: The Way of Water has been scheduled to hit the screens on December 16.
