AVATAR 2 (2021): James Cameron & Crew Go Into New Zealand Quarantine Before Filming Resumes

Cameron and crew must quarantine for 14 days before live-action work can be completed

New Zealand’s COVID-19 outbreak may be more or less contained, but that doesn’t mean everything’s back to normal. The country is taking precautions to make sure a coronavirus resurgence doesn’t occur, as James Cameron recently found out.

Cameron and his Avatar 2 producer Jon Landau flew to New Zealand this past weekend to resume production on the film’s live-action components. However, because the country is still technically closed to international travel, Cameron and Landau must adhere to a 14-day government supervised quarantine. They were able to travel to New Zealand because of an exemption clause “for foreigners considered of ‘significant economic value’”.

“We’re trying to get back to [the film] as quick as we can,” said Cameron.

Landau shared a brief post of himself and Cameron arriving at the Wellington International Airport, decked out in personal protection gear.

View this post on Instagram

Made it to New Zealand. Our 14-day government supervised self-isolation now begins. #avatarsequels #jamescameron #newzealand #airnewzealand?? #selfisolation

A post shared by Jon Landau (@jonplandau) on May 30, 2020 at 6:08pm PDT

Sequel Status

According to an interview Cameron have back in December, the motion-capture work for both Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 is already complete. What Cameron and Landau are planning to shoot in New Zealand are the live-action pick-ups of at least the first sequel.

Cameron has been touting sequels to his hit 2009 action-fantasy film for over a decade. He’s blamed the multiple delays on the necessity for motion-capture technology to catch up with his vision first.

Upon its release, the original Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time with a $2.78 billion worldwide gross (unadjusted for inflation) – a title it held until 2019, when Avengers: Endgame just squeaked past it. There are currently four Avatar sequels in production, set to be released every other year starting in 2021.

Cast and Crew

Cameron will direct Avatar 2 from a screenplay by himself and Josh Friedman. Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Shane Salerno provided additional story elements. Cameron will also co-produce the film with Landau under the Lightstorm Entertainment banner, and Twentieth Century Studios will release it. Returning cast members include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, Stephen Lang, and Sigourney Weaver. New cast members include Kate Winslet, Vin Diesel, David Thewlis, Edie Falco, Jermaine Clement, Cliff Curtis, and Oona Chaplin. The film will release worldwide on December 17, 2021.

Novel Coronavirus Update

The novel coronavirus, resulting in the COVID-19 disease, has affected governments and industries all throughout the world. As of this writing, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports just over 1.78 million cases within the United States, including over 104,000 related deaths. The World Health Organization reports over 6 million cases of the virus worldwide (119,000 of which are new) and more than 371,000 deaths.

Keep abreast on our reporting of the outbreak as it pertains to the entertainment industry here. You can also watch IndieWire’s listing for more frequent updates. Stay inside if you can, stay healthy, and stay safe.

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