"Avatar" Sequels Delayed...does anybody care?

[RoJoHen]

So apparently the sequel trilogy to "Avatar" is being pushed back to 2017. I saw the headline on Facebook, and my immediate response was, "I totally forgot they were making those."

It feels like the first movie came out such a long time ago, and since then the world has pretty much lost interest in the 3D fad that it started. At the time it was a CGI spectacle, but now those kinds of effects have become relatively commonplace. Does anybody even care about these movies anymore?

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/james-cameron-avatar-sequel-delayed-late-2017-28212928

 

[Sindatur]

So apparently the sequel trilogy to "Avatar" is being pushed back to 2017. I saw the headline on Facebook, and my immediate response was, "I totally forgot they were making those."

It feels like the first movie came out such a long time ago, and since then the world has pretty much lost interest in the 3D fad that it started. At the time it was a CGI spectacle, but now those kinds of effects have become relatively commonplace. Does anybody even care about these movies anymore?

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/james-cameron-avatar-sequel-delayed-late-2017-28212928

Actually, I've very curious where they are going to go with The Avatar Universe, and I have been recently wondering what was going on, so, yea, I kinda care.

 

[Jedi_Master]

One of my favorite films of all time, so this is a bit disappointing.

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

One of my favorite films of all time...

I'm so sorry to hear that.

 

[BigJake]

One of my favorite films of all time

Easily among the top five SF movies of the 21st century for me, at the very least.

Delays aren't good news, I'm looking forward to the Avatar sequels and will certainly see them when they come out, probably on the big screen too and in 3D (the original's use of 3D was one of the best-justified and most effective, not just a faddy afterthought). I don't know that the sequels seem particularly necessary, since the first film told a solid and self-contained story. But they should be a good time if they take whatever time is necessary to do them right; if there are delays on that account then so be it. So, for example:

Cameron said the goal was to have the three scripts completed this month. He's leading the writing team.

"We're writing three simultaneously. And we've done that so that everything tracks throughout the three films. We're not just going to do one and then make up another one and another one after that," he said. "And parallel with that, we're doing all the design. So we've designed all the creatures and the environments."

They're designing the movies for consistency and trying to make sure the writing is good and the stories track? That's a good reason for a delay.

 

[DarthTom]

^^ Not really. Unless Cameron can produce some amazing new film technology e.g. flying holograms in the theater, the plot of Avatar just isn't that interesting.

Lets be honest, Avatar [1] was an enormous rip off from the Pocahontas story that without the effects and if the film had to stand alone without the amazing 3D effects it would have fallen flat on its ass.

 

[davejames]

Yeah as much as I loved the first movie, it's not something I'm really dying to see three sequels to. I can't help but feel bad for the actors who are going to have to spend a year of their lives in front of a green screen filming these things.... that no one was really begging to see made.

Although I will say Cameron's 3D in the first movie was SO much cooler and better than the norm that it will probably still be more than worth seeing that way. And of course the 3D was a lot of what made the first movie so special in the first place.

 

[Jedi_Master]

One of my favorite films of all time

Easily among the top five SF movies of the 21st century for me, at the very least.

Delays aren't good news, I'm looking forward to the Avatar sequels and will certainly see them when they come out, probably on the big screen too and in 3D (the original's use of 3D was one of the best-justified and most effective, not just a faddy afterthought). I don't know that the sequels seem particularly necessary, since the first film told a solid and self-contained story. But they should be a good time if they take whatever time is necessary to do them right; if there are delays on that account then so be it.

That is how I feel as well. If they are holding off so that they can make a higher quality film, that it great.

I don't think that it would be all that hard to tell another story in the Avatar universe. Unobtanium is still very valuable.

 

[BigJake]

Unless Cameron can produce some amazing new film technology e.g. flying holograms in the theater, the plot of Avatar just isn't that interesting.

There's a difference between "original" and "interesting." The plot of Avatar was Dances with Wolves in space... but it was done well from most angles including the performances and the characters (well, at least the villains and the supporting cast). If all it had going for it was 3D it wouldn't have been nearly the phenomenon it was; I think you're kidding yourself if you believe otherwise.

 

[RoJoHen]

I just feel like this new trilogy will have to have its own identity. It may use the "Avatar" universe, but I don't think treating it like a direct "Avatar" sequel is the best marketing campaign, especially since so many years will have passed by the time it comes out.

I'm certainly excited by the prospect of more high-profile science fiction in the world, but the appeal of "Avatar" was in its special effects, not its story. The story was fine, but it was nothing particularly groundbreaking.

 

[BigJake]

I'm certainly excited by the prospect of more high-profile science fiction in the world, but the appeal of "Avatar" was in its special effects, not its story. The story was fine, but it was nothing particularly groundbreaking.

The story won't have to be "groundbreaking" if it's relevant and well-told, the original film was proof of that. Frankly there are a lot of SF stories still awaiting treatment on the big screen that aren't "groundbreaking" but also have yet to be knocked out of the park on a large scale. (Why is it that in a movie industry swimming in generic stories of various kinds, Avatar seems to be a favourite target for this somewhat meaningless complaint? I never hear fans of Trek or Star Wars movies complaining that their stories aren't "original" or "groundbreaking," why does Avatar's need to be?)

I suspect it will be a sequel to Avatar featuring Jake and the familiar gang a few years on; it wouldn't be surprising, since most fans of the first film will want to know what happened to those characters. I heard rumours about an ocean setting at one point, perhaps hinting at a film's worth of allegory about ocean devastation to match the first film's allegory about the rainforest. Could be an interesting angle, I guess we'll see.

 

[Jedi_Master]

There aren't really any "groundbreaking" SciFi story ideas left, but what made Avatar work was that the story was immersive and the world building was interesting and well thought out.

 

[DarthTom]

I'm certainly excited by the prospect of more high-profile science fiction in the world, but the appeal of "Avatar" was in its special effects, not its story. The story was fine, but it was nothing particularly groundbreaking.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy is crowded too right now. Star Wars coming out this fall and then 2016 follow-up film which allegedly is about Bobafet is going to steal a lot of thunder from the genre IMO.

Add to that there is supposed to be another Trek film in 2016 and you've got overcrowding for more mainstream sci-fi viewers to absorb.

Avatar was so commercially successful not because sci-fans went to see the film but because everyone basically went to see the film.

Several of my friends who are not die hard sci-fi fans will only go and pay, for only so many sci-fi genre films in a year.

 

[RoJoHen]

There aren't really any "groundbreaking" SciFi story ideas left, but what made Avatar work was that the story was immersive and the world building was interesting and well thought out.

I enjoyed it well enough. I wasn't blown away by anything in the movie, but it certainly wasn't bad.

And I'm getting tired of people making the argument that "there aren't any new stories" anymore. While that may be inherently true, there are ways to tell stories that don't come across as such blatant ripoffs of other stories.

My immediate reaction when the movie ended was that I had just watched a live-action "Fern Gully," which made it very difficult to take the movie seriously.

 

[JWPlatt]

I'd rather they have the courage to take their time to get it right than let the morons in suits push it though because of short term goals.

3D is a fad, a waste, and a gimmick. I could not care less about 3D or HFR. I still look forward to Avatar because Cameron makes good, entertaining movies because he cares about what he does.

Anyone who is worried about how long ago Avatar was first released, and that it endangers market for the sequels, has just written off the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek, The Terminator, etc. Might as well not continue with those either.

 

[BigJake]

Avatar was so commercially successful not because sci-fans went to see the film but because everyone basically went to see the film.

That's partly because the story you imagine to have been a non-factor in the movie's success was relevant to more than just SF genre audiences. (But then I would take your opinions about the supposed "crowding" of SF / fantasy with a giant grain of salt, since weren't you the same guy who claimed Interstellar was too complicated to connect with a modern audience? The same Interstellar that made over half a billion worldwide?)

 

[RoJoHen]

Anyone who is worried about how long ago Avatar was first released, and that it endangers market for the sequels, has just written off both Star Wars and Star Trek. Might as well not continue with those either.

I was more just curious if the popularity of "Avatar" was a lasting thing, or if it was something that went away once the movie left theaters.

Star Wars and Star Trek are both proven franchises that have been around forever. Avatar was just one movie, and nobody really talks about it anymore. I was just trying to see if its popularity would stand the test of time.

 

[BigJake]

My immediate reaction when the movie ended was that I had just watched a live-action "Fern Gully," which made it very difficult to take the movie seriously.

Well, I saw FernGully and this comparison looks absurd and silly to me, but if you actually believe it then by all means avoid the sequels. That's your prerogative.

Avatar was just one movie, and nobody really talks about it anymore.

This thread exists because people still talk about it, at minimum those reporting the news you are attempting to dismiss as non-news.

You do realize there was a time when Star Wars was just one movie, right?

 

[RAMA]

So apparently the sequel trilogy to "Avatar" is being pushed back to 2017. I saw the headline on Facebook, and my immediate response was, "I totally forgot they were making those."

It feels like the first movie came out such a long time ago, and since then the world has pretty much lost interest in the 3D fad that it started. At the time it was a CGI spectacle, but now those kinds of effects have become relatively commonplace. Does anybody even care about these movies anymore?

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/james-cameron-avatar-sequel-delayed-late-2017-28212928

3D fad?? I see more 3D movies released and promoted than ever for blockbuster season.

Avatar was a phenomenon. People will flock to it when it comes out. It wasn't my favorite sf movie of the year but I can recognize it for what it was.

RAMA

 

[doubleohfive]

Speaking only for myself, I was quite riveted the first time I saw Avatar. Never before however was it so important to have seen it in the proper context -- in 3-D, at a large theater (perhaps even IMAX?). I had the same reaction when I saw Gravity last year, and later realized my mistake when I showed a screener of it to my scientist girlfriend who was largely unimpressed. Not because of any fault of the film, but because we watched it at home on a TV instead of actually going to the theater where you get "immersed" in the film itself and can't stop halfway through to go make dinner or answer the phone.

Back to Avatar though: I felt like I was literally trasported to Pandora while watching the film and to this day, I'm still impressed by the film. I've not watched it since, nor do I really care to (I can't come close to recreating how I originally saw it on my own) but all the story flaws I usually have with Cameron's films aside, I'm quite looking forward to the sequels.