This comes as an extreme surprise: Disney gives Avatar 3 a new start date and all subsequent sequels of the franchise as well. The new launches at a glance.
History repeats itself: Avatar 2: The Way of Water appeared in cinemas eight years after its original date. Constantly delayed for various reasons. Avatar 3 now faces a similar fate: as the reliable Hollywood Reporter reports, Avatar 3 will not be released until December 2025. In addition to Avatar 3 to 5, the new Avengers films have also been postponed: Read more here.
These are all the new release dates for Avatar 3 to 5
This marks the first time that Avatar 5, arguably the final instalment in the series, moves into the next decade and will launch over 20 years after Avatar – Departure to Pandora. Incredible Dimensions.
What are the reasons for the delay of the Avatar films?
At this point we can only speculate as to the cause. Avatar producer Jon Landau wrote on Twitter , without direct reference to the delay: It takes time to reach the level of quality that filmmakers strive for. Avatar 2 was in development for almost 5 years, however, filming on Avatar 3 was mostly complete by December 2022, it said. On the other hand, after shooting, work on an Avatar film is just beginning. Hardly any project requires so much post-production, i.e. fine-tuning of special effects and the like.
Another possible reason for the delay even gives cause for optimism: Until the successful release of Avatar 2, parts 4 and 5 were not guaranteed. In the event of a failure or even average success, Disney might have cancelled the films. The financial risk is enormous, these films are expensive.
However, Avatar 2 met all expectations and even exceeded them slightly. Director James Cameron and the Disney studio now have planning security. This may have affected the entire future of the series after Avatar 2, the shaping of the shooting schedules, the story, the characters and so on.
In other words, Avatar 3 being delayed until 5 is the final confirmation that we will see parts 4 and 5 at all. And if we have to wait until the next decade.