Avatar 4 is a third of the way completed, according to the movie's producer Jon Landau.
Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to James Cameron's first movie from 2009, will release later this year. But production on Avatar 3, 4, and 5 a already well underway, too. Speaking to Variety at Busan International Film Festival, Landau said that Avatar 4 has been partly filmed.
“We’ve completed most of the first act of Avatar 4 and there were logistical reasons why we needed to do that. We’ve designed most of the whole movie for Avatar 4 but we haven’t actually filmed all of it – just the first act," Landau said.
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The "logistical reasons" Landau mentioned are the ages of the younger actors. Cameron previously spoke about this in another interview with Variety. "Anything that had to be done with a specific actor, we did all the scenes for 2 and 3 together – and a little bit of 4," he told Variety.
"I had to shoot the kids out. They're allowed to age six years in the middle of the story on page 25 of movie 4. So I needed everything before then, and then everything after, we'll do later."
Avatar: The Way of Water will see Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang reprise their roles from the original film. Meanwhile, Kate Winslet, Oona Chaplin, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Jermaine Clement, and Vin Diesel have all joined this sequel.
Related: James Cameron admits concerns over Avatar 2's lengthy delay
The first movie is the highest-grossing picture of all time and won three Academy Awards: for best visual effects, best cinematography, and best art direction. Avatar was also nominated for best picture and best director for Cameron but lost out on both prizes to The Hurt Locker and its director Kathryn Bigelow.
Avatar: The Way of Water is out in cinemas on December 16.
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Jacob is a freelance writer who specialises in narrative TV and film.
He graduated from the University of Roehampton with an MA in Journalism and has written for several publications since, including Gold Derby, Insider, and Screen Daily.
Jacob has covered major events in the world of film and TV, including numerous BAFTA ceremonies and the Cannes Film Festival, while he's also been an awards expert for several publications, including Korea's Arirang. His particular areas of interest include Star Wars, the MCU, the Oscars, and Hugh Grant.
