Avatar (franchise)
James Cameron's Avatar franchise is a planned series of science-fiction films produced by Lightstorm Entertainment and distributed by 20th Century Studios, as well as associated computer games and theme park rides.
| Avatar | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo | |
| Created by | James Cameron |
| Original work | Avatar |
| Owned by | 20th Century Studios (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Years | 2009–present |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | |
| Games | |
| Video game(s) | |
The first installment, Avatar, was released on December 18, 2009 and is the second highest grossing film of all-time. The planned series was announced by 20th Century Fox on December 11, 2009, one week before Avatar was released to theaters. 20th Century Fox has confirmed the series on January 15, 2010. Note that the sequels only have working titles as of yet and they will most likely be given different names closer to the release.
Like the original film, the four planned sequels have "fully encapsulated" standalone plots that "come to their own conclusions". All four films have an overarching meta-narrative that connects them and have the Sully family at the center. James Cameron described the sequels as "a natural extension of all the themes, and the characters, and the spiritual undercurrents" of the first film.
Films
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar | December 18, 2009 | James Cameron | James Cameron | James Cameron | James Cameron and Jon Landau | Released |
| Avatar 2 | December 16, 2022 | James Cameron, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver[1] | Post-Production | |||
| Avatar 3 | December 20, 2024 | James Cameron and Josh Friedman[1] | ||||
| Avatar 4 | December 18, 2026 | James Cameron and Shane Salerno | TBA | Pre-production | ||
| Avatar 5 | December 22, 2028 | James Cameron | TBA |
Avatar (2009)
The story focuses on an epic conflict on Pandora, an inhabited Earth-sized moon of Polyphemus, one of three gas giants orbiting Alpha Centauri A. On Pandora, human colonists and the sentient humanoid indigenous inhabitants of Pandora, the Na'vi, engage in a war over the planet's resources and the latter's continued existence. The film's title refers to the remotely controlled, genetically engineered human-Na'vi bodies used by the film's human characters to interact with the natives.
Avatar 2 (2022)
Little is known of the storyline of the second film, but it is known that the film will be set several years after the first and will explore the oceans of Pandora. The film was originally planned for a December 2014 release, but has been delayed several times and is currently scheduled for 16 December 2022. Production began in August 2017. It wrapped in October 2018.[2]
Avatar 3 (2024)
A third film will follow the second, planned for 20 December 2024. Interviews in mid 2010 suggested that the third film would explore more of the Alpha Centauri system, but the script was not completed until late 2015 so this may have changed. While two additional sequels are planned, their release is dependent on the success of the second and third films.
Avatar 4 (2026)
A fourth film is planned for 18 December 2026, with Shane Salerno co-writing it.
Avatar 5 (2028)
A fifth film has been announced and is scheduled for 22 December 2028.Nothing else has been confirmed.
Cast and crew
Cast
| Character | Films | Other media | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar | Avatar 2 | Avatar 3 | James Cameron's Avatar: The Game | Toruk – The First Flight | |
| 2009 | 2022 | 2024 | 2009 | 2015 | |
| Jake Sully | Sam Worthington | ||||
| Neytiri | Zoe Saldana | ||||
| Colonel Miles Quaritch | Stephen Lang | ||||
| Dr. Grace Augustine | Sigourney Weaver | TBA | Sigourney Weaver | ||
| Parker Selfridge | Giovanni Ribisi | ||||
| Dr. Norm Spellman | Joel David Moore | ||||
| Dr. Max Patel | Dileep Rao | ||||
| Corporal Lyle Wainfleet | Matt Gerald | ||||
| Mo'at | CCH Pounder | ||||
| Trudy Chacón | Michelle Rodriguez | Michelle Rodriguez | |||
| Eytukan | Wes Studi | ||||
| Tsu'tey | Laz Alonso | ||||
| TBA | Sigourney Weaver | ||||
| Tonowari | Cliff Curtis | ||||
| General Ardmore | Edie Falco | ||||
| Captain Mick Scoresby | Brendan Cowell | ||||
| Dr. Karina Mogue | Michelle Yeoh | ||||
| Dr. Ian Garvin | Jemaine Clement | ||||
| Varang | Oona Chaplin | ||||
| Javier "Spider" Socorro | Jack Champion | TBA | |||
| Neteyam | Jamie Flatters | ||||
| Lo'ak | Britain Dalton | ||||
| Tuktirey "Tuk" | Trinity Bliss | ||||
| Tsireya "Reya" | Bailey Bass | ||||
| Aonung | Filip Geljo | ||||
| Rotxo | Duane Evans Jr. | ||||
| Ronal | Kate Winslet | ||||
| TBA | Vin Diesel | ||||
| CJ Jones | |||||
| David Thewlis | |||||
| Abel Ryder | Audrey Wasilewski Chris Edgerly |
||||
| Kendra Midori | Kimberly Brooks | ||||
| Dalton | Keith Ferguson | ||||
| Tan Jala | André Sogliuzzo | ||||
| Commander Falco | Paul Eiding | ||||
| Dr. Victor Monroe | Gregory Alan Williams | ||||
| Swawta | David Kaye | ||||
| Rai'uk | Kyle Hebert | ||||
| Dr. Rene Harper | Ron Orbach | ||||
| Beyda'amo | Emerson Brooks | ||||
| Shaman of the Omatikaya Clan | Cumie Dunio Priscilia Le Foll | ||||
| Storyteller | Raymond O'Neill | ||||
| Ralu | Gabriel Christo Jeremiah Hughes | ||||
| Entu | Guillaume Paquin Daniel Crisp | ||||
| Tsyal | Giulia Piolanti Zoé Sabattie | ||||
- Note: A gray cell indicates character did not appear in that medium.
Crew
| Film | Composer | Cinematographer | Editors | Production company |
Distributor | Running time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar | James Horner | Mauro Fiore | James Cameron, John Refoua and Stephen E. Rivkin | Lightstorm Entertainment | 20th Century Studios | 2 hrs. 42 min. (extended: 2 hrs. 58 min.) |
| Avatar 2 | TBA | Russell Carpenter | James Cameron, John Refoua, David Brenner, Stephen E. Rivkin and Ian Silverstein | TBA | ||
| Avatar 3 | TBA | James Cameron, John Refoua, David Brenner and Stephen E. Rivkin | TBA |
Reception
The first film was released theatrically starting on December 18, 2009. As of December 27, 2009, the film has officially budgeted at $237 million and an estimated $150 million for marketing. However, the film is currently the second highest grossing film in history, taking $2,789,769,794 worldwide. The film also spawned numerous related merchandise, including a series of video games, guidebooks and other collectibles. The film was well received critically and received many awards.
Box office performance
| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget (millions) | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | ||||
| Avatar | December 18, 2009 | $760,507,625 | $2,029,172,169 | $2,789,679,794 | #3 | #2 | $237 million | [3] |
| Avatar 2 | December 16, 2022 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | $250 million | [4] |
| Avatar 3 | December 20, 2024 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | $250 million | [4] |
| Avatar 4 | December 18, 2026 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | $250 million | [4] |
| Avatar 5 | December 22, 2028 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | $250 million | [4] |
| Total | $760,507,625 | $2,029,172,169 | $2,789,679,794 | $1,237,000,000 | [5] | |||
Critical and public response
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar | 82% (316 reviews) | 83 (35 reviews) | A |
Accolades
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Avatar | |
| Picture | Nominated |
| Director | Nominated |
| Art Direction | Won |
| Cinematography | Won |
| Film Editing | Nominated |
| Original Score | Nominated |
| Sound Editing | Nominated |
| Sound Mixing | Nominated |
| Visual Effects | Won |
Other media
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game (2009)
The third-person action, which acts as a prequel to the film, features Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Giovanni Ribisi reprise their roles from the film. The casting and voice production for Avatar: The Game was handled by Blindlight. A yet untitled sequel was reported to be in production.[8]
Toruk – The First Flight (2015)
Toruk – The First Flight was a Cirque du Soleil touring production set centuries before the events of Avatar, following a young Toruk on Pandora as the Na'vi Entu and Ralu attempt to tame him.
Comic books
On May 6, 2017, Dark Horse Comics published a Free Comic Book Day one-shot entitled FCBD 2017: James Cameron's Avatar / Briggs Land, which included a short story set in the world of Avatar entitled "Brothers".[9][10] From January to August of 2019, Dark Horse published a six-issue miniseries called Avatar: Tsu'tey's Path.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Tsu'tey's Path was collected in trade paperback format on November 27, 2019, with "Brothers" included as supplementary material.[18]
| Issue | Story Arc | Release Date | Story | Art | Colors | Covers | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCBD 2017 | "Brothers" | May 6, 2017 | Sherri L. Smith | Doug Wheatley | Wes Dzioba | Dave Wilkins | Avatar: Tsu'tey's Path RELEASED: November 27, 2019 ISBN: 9781506706702 |
| #1 | "Tsu'tey's Path" | January 16, 2019 | Sherri L. Smith | Jan Duursema (pencils) Dan Parson (inks) |
Wes Dzioba | Doug Wheatley Shea Standefer (variants) | |
| #2 | February 13, 2019 | ||||||
| #3 | March 20, 2019 | ||||||
| #4 | May 1, 2019 | ||||||
| #5 | June 26, 2019 | ||||||
| #6 | August 21, 2019 | ||||||
| #1 | "The Next Shadow" | January 6, 2021 | Jeremy Barlow | Josh Hood | Wes Dzioba | Guilherme Balbi with Wes Dzioba |
Avatar: The Next Shadow RELEASED: August 11, 2021 ISBN: 9781506722429 |
| #2 | February 3, 2021 | ||||||
| #3 | March 3, 2021 | ||||||
| #4 | April 7, 2021 | ||||||
Theme parks
A themed land named Pandora – The World of Avatar opened in 2017 at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando.
References
- Friedman, Josh [@Josh_Friedman] (November 11, 2015). "I appreciate the congrats and links and such today. One small point of order: I'm writing Avatar 3, not 2. Jaffa&Silver are writing 2" (Tweet). Retrieved January 9, 2021 – via Twitter.
- "Zoe Saldana Has Wrapped Filming, And Other Details About Avatar 2 And 3". 13 June 2018.
- "Avatar". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- Chris Cabin (September 30, 2017). "The 'Avatar' Sequels "Will Be the Most Expensive Movies of All Time," According to Fox". Collider. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
- "Franchises - Avatar at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
- "Avatar Oscar Nominations and wins". Oscars.com. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 2019-02-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2017: JAMES CAMERON'S AVATAR/ BRIGGS LAND". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH #1". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH #2". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH #3". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH #4". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH #5". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH #6". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- "AVATAR: TSU'TEY'S PATH TPB". Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
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| Universe | |
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