"Avatar 2" was initially scheduled to release by December 2017 with its two sequels following around the same time each successive year. However, according to a recent report from The Wrap, the film has been pushed back to an undetermined date, successfully preventing it from clashing head-on with the release of "Star Wars: Episode VIII."
According to /Film, the December 2017 release date was never concrete to begin with as James Cameron has stated in the past that the target release date was not as important as the studios actually getting all three films done. All three films will be shot back-to-back and will then be released one year apart.
The Wrap points out that the studios have not explained exactly why the film will not be hitting its original release date but it is indicated that despite "Avatar 2" starting production on time, it will still not be finished by the end of 2017. The film is now speculated to have a summer 2018 release, although this has not been confirmed by the studios.
It is also important to note that the announcement for "Avatar 2" new delay comes right after a report confirmed "Star Wars: Episode VIII" was pushed back from a summer 2017 release to a December 2017 release.
20th Century Fox has not admitted that the delay on "Avatar 2" was done to avoid direct competition with "Star Wars" but many fans speculate that this is indeed the case. Both "Avatar 2" and "Star Wars: Episode VIII" target the same audience demographic, therefore releasing both at the same time would hurt the box office for both movies.
"Avatar 2" will officially begin production this coming April, as stated by the Master Herald. Unlike most movies that end filming after a few months to start post-production, however, production will continue until "Avatar 3" and "Avatar 4" are also complete, similar to how "The Hobbit" trilogy was produced.
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang are all set to return for "Avatar 2."
