Avatar: The Way of Water facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Avatar: The Way of Water |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | James Cameron |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Simon Franglen |
| Cinematography | Russell Carpenter |
| Editing by |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Studios |
| Release date(s) | December 6, 2022 (Odeon Luxe Leicester Square) December 16, 2022 (United States) |
| Running time | 192 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $350–460 million |
| Money made | $2.320 billion |
Avatar: The Way of Water is an exciting science fiction film from 2022. It was directed by James Cameron, who also helped write and produce it. This movie is the sequel to the very popular Avatar (2009). It is the second film in the Avatar series.
The story follows Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington). He is a blue-skinned Na'vi. Jake and his family face new threats from humans. They seek safety with the Metkayina clan. This clan lives in the ocean areas of Pandora. Many actors from the first film returned. These include Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, and Sigourney Weaver. Kate Winslet also joined the cast.
James Cameron first talked about making sequels in 2006. He confirmed them in 2010 after the first film's huge success. Making this movie was a big challenge. They had to invent new ways to film performance capture scenes underwater. This had never been done before. These new technologies caused some delays. The movie was filmed for three years, starting in 2017. It cost a lot of money, making it one of the most expensive films ever.
Avatar: The Way of Water was released in December 2022. Critics generally liked it, praising its amazing visuals. Some found the story simple and the movie long. It was a massive success at the box office. It earned over $2.3 billion worldwide. This made it the highest-grossing film of 2022. It is also the third-highest-grossing film of all time. The film won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. A third Avatar film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is planned for release in December 2025.
Story of the Film
Sixteen years after the Na'vi pushed the RDA (a human organization) off Pandora, Jake Sully is now the leader of the Omatikaya clan. He lives with Neytiri and their children. They have two sons, Neteyam and Lo'ak, and a daughter, Tuktirey "Tuk". They also adopted Kiri, who was born from Dr. Grace Augustine's Na'vi body. Miles "Spider" Socorro, the son of a human colonel, often visits Jake's children. Spider was raised by human scientists who stayed on Pandora.
The RDA returns to Pandora to take over. They have new soldiers called Recombinants. These are Na'vi bodies with the memories of dead human soldiers. A Recombinant version of Colonel Miles Quaritch leads them. Jake leads his people in fighting back. During a mission, Quaritch captures Jake's children. Jake and Neytiri rescue them, but Spider is caught. Quaritch realizes Spider is his son. He tries to get information from Spider. Instead, Spider teaches Quaritch about Na'vi culture.
Jake knows Spider's knowledge is dangerous. So, Jake and his family leave their home. They move to the eastern sea of Pandora. This area is home to the Metkayina clan. Jake's family learns to live with the Metkayina. Kiri feels a special connection to the sea. Lo'ak becomes friends with Tsireya, the chief's daughter. Lo'ak also befriends Payakan, a Tulkun. Tulkuns are intelligent, whale-like creatures. The Metkayina see them as spiritual family. Payakan was cast out by other Tulkuns. He had attacked human whalers who killed his mother.
Quaritch finds Jake's family. He teams up with the RDA's marine hunters. They hunt Tulkuns to force Jake to show himself. When the Metkayina learn about the Tulkun killings, Lo'ak warns Payakan. Lo'ak and his siblings are captured by Quaritch. Jake, Neytiri, and the Metkayina fight the humans. They rescue the children. Quaritch tries to make Jake surrender. But Payakan attacks the human ship. A big battle begins. Neteyam saves Lo'ak, Tsireya, and Spider. Sadly, Neteyam is shot and dies.
Jake and Neytiri are heartbroken. They decide to save their captured daughters. Jake fights Quaritch, who holds Kiri hostage. Neytiri holds Spider hostage. Everyone gets trapped inside the sinking ship. Jake defeats Quaritch. Lo'ak and Payakan save Jake. Kiri saves Neytiri and Tuk. Spider saves Quaritch from drowning. But Spider chooses to stay with Jake's family.
After Neteyam's funeral, Jake wants to leave the Metkayina. But the Metkayina chief welcomes Jake's family to stay. Jake's family accepts their new life in the sea. They promise to keep fighting the RDA.
Main Characters
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- Sam Worthington as Jake Sully: He was a human who became a Na'vi. He is now the chief of the Omatikaya clan.
- Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite: She is the daughter of the former Omatikaya leaders. She is Jake's partner.
- Sigourney Weaver as Kiri te Suli Kireysi'ite: She is Jake and Neytiri's adopted 14-year-old daughter. Kiri was born from Dr. Grace Augustine's Na'vi body. Sigourney Weaver also played Dr. Grace Augustine in the first film.
- Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch: He was a human military officer. He led the RDA's forces against the Na'vi. After Neytiri killed him, he was brought back as a Recombinant. He wants revenge on Jake and his family.
- Kate Winslet as Ronal: She is a free diver of the Metkayina clan. She is the spiritual leader and wife of Tonowari. Kate Winslet learned to hold her breath for over seven minutes for this role.
- Cliff Curtis as Tonowari: He is the chief of the Metkayina clan. He is Ronal's husband.
- Joel David Moore as Dr. Norm Spellman: A former human scientist who helps the Na'vi.
- CCH Pounder as Mo'at: The Omatikaya's spiritual leader and Neytiri's mother.
- Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore: The commander in charge of the RDA's operations.
- Jamie Flatters as Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan: Jake and Neytiri's 16-year-old oldest son.
- Britain Dalton as Lo'ak te Suli Tsyeyk'itan: Jake and Neytiri's 14-year-old son.
- Trinity Bliss as Tuktirey "Tuk" te Suli Neytiri'ite: Jake and Neytiri's 8-year-old youngest daughter.
- Jack Champion as Miles "Spider" Socorro: He is 16 years old and Quaritch's son. Spider was born on Pandora and raised by scientists. He wears Na'vi clothes and an oxygen mask. He is very close to Jake and Neytiri's children.
- Bailey Bass as Tsireya "Reya": A skilled free diver of the Metkayina clan. She is Tonowari and Ronal's daughter.
- Filip Geljo as Aonung: A young hunter and free diver of the Metkayina. He is Tonowari and Ronal's son.
- Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge: The former corporate leader for the RDA. He appears in a video for Quaritch's Recombinant.
- Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel: A former Avatar program scientist who helps the Na'vi.
- Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet: A Recombinant soldier under Quaritch's command.
Making the Film
How the Idea Developed
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In 2006, James Cameron thought about making Avatar sequels if the first movie did well. After Avatar became a huge hit, he confirmed the sequels in 2010. He planned to film them one after another. The sequels would explore more of Pandora's world. The first sequel would focus on Pandora's ocean. Cameron even planned to film at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
In 2013, Cameron announced that filming would happen in New Zealand. The New Zealand government helped with the production. They wanted at least one movie premiere in Wellington. They also wanted a lot of money spent on filming there. Cameron decided to make four Avatar sequels in total. All of them would be filmed at the same time.
New people joined the film crew. These included cinematographer Russell Carpenter. He worked with Cameron on Titanic. A special free-diving trainer, Kirk Krack, taught the cast. This was for the many underwater scenes.
Writing the Story
Cameron said the sequels would be separate stories. But they would all connect to the first film. He worked with several screenwriters. They all worked together on the scripts at first. This helped make sure the stories connected well. The writing process took longer than expected. This caused delays in the movie's release.
Cameron once wrote a 130-page story for the first sequel. It was called Avatar: The High Ground. But he threw it out and started over. He felt it was not "unexpected" enough. He even joked about firing his writers. They were focusing too much on new stories. He wanted them to remember what made the first movie great.
By February 2017, all four sequel scripts were finished. It took about four years to write them. Cameron said the film would show Jake and Neytiri as parents. He explored how becoming a parent changes them. He wondered if Jake would still be a fearless warrior. He also thought about how the young Na'vi boys would want to fight.
Choosing the Actors
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña were confirmed to return in 2010. Cameron also confirmed that Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang would be back. This was despite their characters dying in the first film. Weaver played a new character, Kiri. Lang returned as a new version of Quaritch.
Many new actors joined in 2017. Cliff Curtis joined as Tonowari, the Metkayina clan leader. Seven child actors were also cast. They played Jake and Neytiri's children and Metkayina members. Cameron said the child actors trained for six months. They learned to hold their breath for two to four minutes underwater. This helped them act calmly underwater.
Kate Winslet joined the cast in October 2017. She had worked with Cameron on Titanic. She played Ronal, a Metkayina free diver. Winslet also learned free diving. She held her breath for over seven minutes during filming. This set a new record for an underwater film scene.
Filming the Movie
Filming for Avatar: The Way of Water began on August 15, 2017. The main location was Manhattan Beach, California. The movie was filmed at the same time as Avatar: Fire and Ash. It cost between $350 and $460 million.
A big challenge was filming underwater scenes using performance capture. This had never been done before. The crew spent a month testing this. They succeeded in November 2017. The actors did not use scuba gear. Air bubbles would interfere with the sensors. They developed two separate performance capture systems. One was for underwater, and one for above water. They had to work together.
By November 2018, the main performance capture filming was done. Some fast scenes were filmed at 48 frames per second. This made moving objects look clearer. Live-action filming in New Zealand began in spring 2019.
In March 2020, filming was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production continued in Los Angeles. Visual effects work also continued. In June 2020, filming resumed in New Zealand. Cameron confirmed that live-action filming in New Zealand was completed in September 2020. The entire shooting process took over three years.
Visual Effects
Wētā FX started working on the Avatar sequels in 2017. The movie has many underwater scenes. These were filmed underwater with the actors using performance capture. It took a year and a half to create a new motion capture system for this. Avatar 2 was the biggest visual effects project Wētā FX had ever done.
The film was completed on November 23, 2022.
Movie Length
The movie's final length is 192 minutes (three hours and twelve minutes). James Cameron said he did not want people to complain about the length. He compared it to people watching TV shows for many hours. He said it is okay to take a break during the movie. Avatar: The Way of Water is one of the longest Disney-distributed films.
Movie Music
Simon Franglen composed the music for Avatar: The Way of Water. He had worked with James Cameron before. He also worked with the original Avatar composer, James Horner, who passed away in 2015. Horner's music was also used in the film. The music recording began in July 2022. The soundtrack was released in December 2022.
The film also features an original song called "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)". It was performed by Canadian singer the Weeknd.
Promoting the Film
Disney promoted Avatar: The Way of Water in many ways. This included toys, products, and theme park attractions. The first teaser trailer was shown in May 2022. It focused on the beautiful scenery of Pandora. It showed the Na'vi's adventures in the ocean. The teaser got over 148 million views online in its first 24 hours.
Later, Disney edited the teaser. They removed scenes with guns. This was to avoid showing gun violence. New photos from the set were released. They showed Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis as Na'vi. They also showed Sigourney Weaver as Kiri.
Eight minutes of the film were shown in 3D at the D23 Expo in September 2022. McFarlane Toys released action figures of the characters. The official trailer was released in November 2022. An 18-minute clip of new footage was shown at the CCXP convention in December.
Disney also started a campaign called "Keep Our Oceans Amazing". This supported the Nature Conservancy. It helped protect marine habitats and animals. Books about the film's art and visuals were also released.
Release of the Film
In Theaters
Avatar: The Way of Water first premiered in London on December 6, 2022. It was released in the United States on December 16, 2022. This was the first Avatar film released by Disney. Disney bought the rights to Avatar in 2019. The movie was shown in many formats. These included RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, and IMAX. Some showings used a high frame rate of up to 48 frames per second.
The film had been delayed eight times. This was because the crew needed more time for writing and visual effects. James Cameron felt the delays would not hurt the film's success. He compared it to his other successful sequels like Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. These films were also released years after their originals. The movie was also approved for release in China.
In May 2025, it was announced that the film would be re-released in theaters. This would happen on October 3, 2025, for one week. It would be shown in IMAX and 3D.
For Home Viewing
Avatar: The Way of Water became available for digital download on March 28, 2023. It included special behind-the-scenes features. The film was released on Disney+ and Max on June 7, 2023. It was also released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, and DVD on June 20, 2023. A special "collector's edition" was released in December 2023.
In February 2024, the film became available to stream in 3D 4K on the Disney+ app for visionOS.
Future Films
The Way of Water is the first of four planned sequels to Avatar. Avatar: Fire and Ash began filming at the same time as this movie. Many actors from the first two films are expected to return. These include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, and Sigourney Weaver. New actors like Oona Chaplin and Michelle Yeoh will also join.
The director, James Cameron, has said that Fire and Ash will have less water scenes. It will have about 30% water scenes. Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 will have even fewer, around 15%. The ocean scenes for all sequels were filmed together.
Cameron said that if Avatar 2 and 3 did not make enough money, 4 and 5 might not happen. However, after The Way of Water was a big success, Cameron confirmed that the sequels are now definitely happening. He said he would be working on them for the next six or seven years.
See also
In Spanish: Avatar: The Way of Water para niños
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema
- List of films featuring extraterrestrials
- List of films with the longest production time
- List of highest-grossing films
- List of most expensive films
- List of underwater science fiction works
