'Avatar 2' release date, cast, plot rumors: Story will focus on the Sully family

Zoe Saldana as Princess Neytiri and Sam Worthington as Jake Sully will return in "Avatar 2"Twentieth Century Fox

"Avatar" premiered eight years ago and became the highest-grossing film of all time. The main cast will be coming back for the sequel sometime next year with a new storyline in hand.

Production for "Avatar 2" will be starting in September and the characters that fans have missed will be returning to the world of Pandora. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) will become the leader of the tribe while his wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) will become the high priestess guiding them.

Producer Jon Landau gave an update about the film at 20th Century Fox's presentation at CineEurope last month. He stated that "Avatar 2" and its upcoming sequels will focus on Sully's family and their bond together. He explained:

"At the center of each of our four movies will be the Sully family. Each sequel will play as a stand-alone movie. Each movie's story will come to its own conclusion... However, when looked at as a whole, the journey across all four movies will create an even larger connected epic saga for audiences around the world."

Sully, Neytiri and their children are likely to explore Pandora with "Avatar 2" introducing new worlds, habitats and cultures. There will be underwater scenes which suggest that fans will see submerged worlds that the Sully family will discover. There is also the possibility of facing new intelligent races within these new worlds.

Oona Chaplin from "Game of Thrones" and Cliff Curtis of "Fear the Walking Dead" will be joining the cast in unspecified roles. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) who both died in the first film will be returning for the sequel. As to how they will return remains to be seen.

"Avatar 2" is expected to premiere on Dec. 18, 2020. The following sequels will debut accordingly: "Avatar 3" on Dec. 17, 2021, "Avatar 4" on Dec. 20, 2024, and "Avatar 5" on Dec. 19, 2025.