After the immediate success of Avatar, a sequel was already in the works, but now it looks like the anticipated sequel won't be coming anytime soon.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, producer Jon Landau talked about the project saying that 2015 would likely be the new year for release. Earlier it was thought that Avatar 2 would be release in December 2014 with a third film coming out in 2015.
Talking to Empire Magazine, Landau said "We're not naming dates, but I think 2014 will be a tough date for us to make.” James Cameron recently did a dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and has also been working on the 3D conversion of the Titanic. While those are just two possible reasons for the delay, Landau also noted, “It's about getting it right … movies make release dates; release dates don't make movies."
The sequel to the high budget 3D film will start where the first one ended and will end rather than starting the story for the next film in what has turned into a franchise. Weta Digital is already starting work on the project with Cameron's production company.
The first new equipment they are developing is an underwater motion capture system that Cameron wants to show the oceans of Pandora. The ocean is just a setting though, and will not be where the entirety of the film takes place. Think of it like the Floating Mountains in the first one. Only one part of a very large planet.
The second and third films of Avatar will be shot back to back, but have not received any solid dates for release. Landau made it clear that they are two individual stand-alone films, saying "That's where movies fall into trouble – when they try to say: 'You know what? It's really one movie and there's an intermission' – so we want each one to be a stand-alone movie."
