On Monday, Disney dropped an official teaser trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, which was first shown at CinemaCon and exclusively in cinemas with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Director James Cameron (Titanic) has been working on the Avatar sequel for years.
Read the official synopsis:
"Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure."
The sequel stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi and Kate Winslet.
In the 13 years since the original Avatar was released, the 3D format has become niche in the home market and television manufacturers have all but abandoned it. I recently rewatched Avatar on Disney+ and my enjoyment of 'Cameron's greatest hits collection' hasn't diminished.
It remains to be seen whether or not cinemagoers suffer from the so-called 'Pandora blues' this holiday season.
The House of Mouse has bet big on Cameron's sequel and it's difficult to imagine how Avatar: The Way of Water will fail at the box office. Especially with the allure of immersive 3D. The true test will be the release of future sequels. At least there's always Disney+.
Avatar: The Way of Water is in cinemas on 16th December.
What did you think of the Avatar: The Way of Water teaser trailer? Let me know in the comments below.
I think it will be a watershed even (#punintended). This is an attempt to manufacture a franchise that embraces the digital transformation of the entertainment industry. In the first 6000 years or so, things were neatly separated into performing arts vs. literature, music vs. theatre etc. etc. Now, that neuroscience, psychology, marketing and digitial technology have converged into an overlapping field we could call "Neuromancy", entertainment is no longer a matter of one delivery vehicle only. It's about a complete immersive experience, spanning media types as well as delivery models. The new digitally packaged Experiences (MindCast and Experience Packs Xpacks) will be delivered holistically as a complete cross-media launch across all available media types, from Social Media, Blogs, Podcasts, previews, making off, fan events, snippets, pre-trailers, fan-trailers, speculative commentary all the way to a 360 degree launch including merchandizing and a global media blitz that will make the actual arrival in the movie theatre a side-show. The cost of this D-Day Invasion of your entertainment beaches will be so staggering, that it can only be recovered with a 4-part episodic movie series, supported by literature, TV productions and a broadway show. This is the way. I am just not sure trying to open the box of Pandora is the right idea at this juncture. Time will tell, but like I speculated above, this will be a watershed event for the industry.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fascinating thesis.
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