"Avatar" is still the highest earning film in history, earning nearly $3 Billion. The planned sequels have been pushed back multiple times, but 20th Century Fox has now announced a release date for "Avatar 2." The film is now scheduled to launch in December 2018.
According to Deadline, the studios have placed an unnamed film that will premiere on Dec. 21, 2018, and while "Avatar 2" was not specifically listed, the report states that it is from Lightstorm Entertainment, which is owned and run by James Cameron.
Cinema Blend further reports that the movie is likely to be "Avatar 2" given that Cameron has been working on it since 2009. The film was also scheduled to premiere sometime during the Christmas season, and there are no other major films launching in December 2018.
The only main competition releasing around the same time is the animated "Spider-Man" movie.
"Avatar 2" was originally planned for December 2014 but had to be delayed as the script Cameron was working on expanded. Instead of two sequels, the series has increased to four planned follow-ups. Delays had also occurred because Cameron had been developing better technology such as being able to film 3D underwater.
It is further stated that the film had also been delayed again most recently due to Lucasfilm announcing that "Star Wars Episode VIII" is going to be released in December 2017. "Avatar 2" was pushed out to avoid competing with "Star Wars," given that they are both sci-fi films catering to the same target audience.
Back in September Cameron also stated that, as far as he knows, "Avatar 2" was still scheduled to premiere in December 2018, although, at the time, a specific date had not been chosen. It is still possible that the movie will be delayed, especially if Lucasfilm plans to release the "Han Solo" movie around the same time as well.
20th Century Fox has yet to confirm if the scheduled movie is indeed "Avatar 2" and when the follow-up movies, from "Avatar 3" to "Avatar 5" would roll out.
