After 13 years the highest-grossing movie of all time finally got its sequel! Audiences were introduced to the world of Pandora back in 2009 with the release of Avatar, and after 13 years, the long-awaited sequel is here! Avatar was considered a huge game changer for CGI in movies, laying the groundwork for special effects in many blockbuster movies. The movie itself was a huge success earning a whopping $2.922 billion at the box office, making it the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Director James Cameron announced his plan for two sequels back in 2010. Plans for a 2014-2015 release for the two sequels was announced. However, both sequels were then pushed back to December 2020-2021, before being delayed again to December 2022-2024. Luckily, these dates seemed to have stuck since Avatar: The Way of Water came out on December 16th, 2022.

Of course, there is the question of whether audiences even want more Avatar sequels. After such an iconic first movie, the standards are high. Due to the sheer length of time audiences were forced to wait for a sequel, people are expecting a lot more from this movie compared to any other big movie before. Luckily, Cameron is a legendary filmmaker who directed cult classics such as Terminator 2, Titanic, and Rambo.

Cameron wanted to wait for technology to eventually catch up with his vision for the series, specifically with underwater special effects. Crazily enough, he wanted to have the scripts for all four planned sequels done and ready for shooting before production even began, which is another factor in the delayed sequels.

Actor Sam Worthington returns as Jake Sully, the main human character of the first movie. Jake ends up siding with the Na’vi, who are the iconic tribe of blue humanoid people. Actor Zoe Saldaña, who you might know as Gamora from the Guardians of the Galaxy series, is returning as Neytiri, Jake’s love interest from the first movie. All in all, Avatar is a highly anticipated continuation for a movie that hasn’t seen the light of a sequel for more than a decade. Be sure to catch it in theaters now!