The long-awaited “Avatar” sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” premieres on Dec. 16. The film is a gorgeous reimmersion into the Na’vi people and their water-filled world, filled with stunning visuals and a storyline rooted in family values and the importance of a connection to nature. The movie is set a decade later and follows Sam Worthington‘s Jake Sully and Zoe Saldaña’s Neytiri, who fell in love in the first film. The first trailer premiered on Nov. 2, and on Dec. 7, a second trailer was released featuring a new song by The Weeknd titled “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength).” The song is also featured on the movie’s soundtrack, which was released on Dec. 15.
The movie also introduces viewers to Jake and Neytiri’s kids for the first time. One of their children, an adopted daughter named Kiri, is played by Sigourney Weaver, whose original character, Dr. Grace Augustine, died in the original 2009 “Avatar” film. Weaver, 73, returns for the second film to play Kiri, and she told Empire magazine on July 1, “I think we all pretty much remember what we were feeling as adolescents. I certainly do. I was 5′ 10″ or 5′ 11″ when I was 11. I felt strongly that Kiri would feel awkward a lot of the time. She’s searching for who she is. I was thrilled to be given that challenge.”
It’s been a long time since the original “Avatar” landed in theaters — more than a decade, in fact. The new movie takes place in a future when humans, who have completely depleted Earth’s natural resources, travel to the fictional moon of Pandora to mine for resources, kicking off a war with the Na’vi, the moon’s inhabitants, a species of 10-foot-tall humanoid aliens. The movie went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time.
While director James Cameron’s film was supposed to get a sequel many years ago, production was delayed on the big-budget feature. The time has finally come, though, for “Avatar 2” to be seen by the world, and, yes, there are other sequels in the works.
Ahead, here’s everything you need to know about “Avatar: The Way of Water,” including the cast, trailers, and runtime.