Those holding their breath for the Avatar sequels are going to be plenty blue, as producer Jon Landau has dated the first installment as “four years away.” Avatar creator and cinematic mastermind James Cameron expressed his plans for shooting two sequels back-to-back in time for Christmas 2014 and 2015, but do the math and either Laundau is lying or things are behind schedule.
As distant as Christmas 2016 might sound, it could be in the film’s best interest. The longer Cameron has to work on the technology, the more of a visual leap forward the sequels will be. Given the waning audience interest in 3D, a supernova-sized tentpole project from the guy who basically helped invent the cameras that have become the industry standard might be the shot in the arm the format needs.
Bleedingcool got the word from Landau, who promised Avatar 2’s technical improvements would include better motion-capture work and a higher framerate. Landau, who produced the sci-fi epic that became the highest grossing movie of all time, parsed out the details at a screening for the 3D update of former box-office No. 1 Titanic, which is due for re-release Apr. 6.