The first Avatar clocked in at two hours and 40 minutes, nearly three hours long. With the sequel being three hours, James Cameron defends Avatar 2 runtime for being longer as it will be close to three hours. He told Empire magazine his message for haters and people criticizing the film.
James Cameron Defends Avatar 2 Runtime and More from Haters
The first was a massive hit and proved to be to this day. It is the highest-grossing movie of all time (unadjusted for inflation) with $2.8 billion, beating out Avengers: Endgame’s $2.7 billion. The Marvel film did win for a short amount of time, but Avatar proved to be victorious. The film got nominated when it was initially released for nine Oscars, winning three of those. That opens the door for plenty of sequels, even if it has been over a decade, as the director sets his eyes on releasing Avatar 2 with a runtime that is longer than the 2009 original. Still, some in the film community turn their noses up at that success.
Avatar 2 runtime is needed with how big the world that the filmmaker created and the story to be told that will span to three more movies afterward. The Way of Water reunites audiences with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) a decade after the first film’s events. They will have to protect their family from a new threat; one of their children will be an adopted teenager played by Sigourney Weaver. Stephen Lang will also return. Joining the sci-fi film will be Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows), and Kate Winslet.
The film hits theaters on December 16. The third installment is slated for December 2024. Four and five are not confirmed yet but are planned to complete the story.
