California, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Dolby Theatre, December 12, 2022

The world premiere of the highly anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water was held tonight at London's Leicester Square, with the film's cast and crew in attendance. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Joel David Moore, Jamie Flatters, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jack Champion, Brendan Cowell, Bailey Bass walked the blue carpet, surrounded by director/producer/writer James Cameron, producer Jon Landau and composer Simon Franglen.

Avatar: The Way of Water is a 2022 American epic science fiction film and the sequel to the 2009 film Avatar, both directed by James Cameron. The film is distributed by 20th Century Studios, as the second installment in the Avatar film series. Cameron produced the film with Jon Landau and wrote the screenplay with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, which is based on a story the three wrote with Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. Cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Dileep Rao, and Matt Gerald reprise their roles from the original film, with Sigourney Weaver returning in a different role. New cast members include Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Brendan Cowell. Cameron, who had stated in 2006 that he would like to make sequels to Avatar if it was successful, announced the first two sequels in 2010 following the widespread success of the first film, with The Way of Water aiming for a 2014 release.

However, the addition of three more sequels (to the first one) and the necessity to develop new technology in order to film performance capture scenes underwater, a feat never accomplished before, led to significant delays to allow the crew more time to work on the writing, pre-production, and visual effects. Preliminary shooting for the film began in Manhattan Beach, California, on August 15, 2017, followed by principal photography simultaneously with Avatar 3 in Wellington on September 25, 2017. Filming wrapped in late September 2020 after over three years of shooting. The film's theatrical release has been subject to repeated delays, with the latest occurring on July 23, 2020. The film is currently planned for a release on December 16, 2022, with the following three sequels to be released, respectively, in 2024, 2026 and 2028, though the latter two would depend on the commercial performance of The Way of Water. Being made on an estimated budget of $350–400 million, it is one of the most expensive films of all time.

Avatar composer James Horner was originally reported to score music for the franchise, before his death in a plane crash in June 2015. In December 2019, Simon Franglen, who had previously worked with both Cameron and Horner as record producer and arranger since 1997's Titanic, including on Avatar (notably completing Horner's score for 2016's The Magnificent Seven after his passing), was reported to write music for the film. Landau confirmed his involvement in the project in August 2021, while also associating with the forthcoming Avatar sequels. Horner's score will be reused in the film, in addition to the original themes produced by Franglen. The scoring for the film officially began on July 29, 2022, at the Newman Scoring Stage in 20th Century. The soundtrack album will be released by Hollywood Records. In November, it was reported that the film would feature an original song titled "Song Chord" which will be performed by Franglen and Zoe Saldana. The following month, it was announced that recording artist The Weeknd will also contribute an original song to the film.

Synopsis :
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water tells the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their children), the trials they face, the paths they must take to protect each other, the battles they must fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure.

Avatar: The Way of Water
Directed by James Cameron
Screenplay by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver
Story by James Cameron, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman, Shane Salerno
Based on Characters by James Cameron
Produced by James Cameron, Jon Landau
Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet
Cinematography : Russell Carpenter
Edited by Stephen E. Rivkin, David Brenner, John Refoua, James Cameron
Music by Simon Franglen
Production companies : Lightstorm Entertainment, TSG Entertainment
Distributed by 20th Century Studios
Release date : December 14, 2022 (France), December 16, 2022 (United States)
Running time : 192 minutes