After 13 years of waiting, Avatar 2: The Way of Water is coming out in theaters on December 16, 2022. The first Avatar movie hit screens in 2009, breaking the box office record that year with $77 million in earnings. With its jaw-dropping graphics that were ahead of its time, people everywhere were absolutely blown away by the film. As a recap, Jake Sully, an ex-marine who had been paralyzed from the waist down, was offered a mission in his brother’s place to travel to a distant world known as Pandora. He was given a new body – an avatar that had been created from his twin brothers’ DNA and the DNA of the Na’vi inhabitants of the new world. With this new body, he was finally able to walk again and experienced a newfound freedom. After getting lost in the forest teeming with terrifying predators, he was saved by the Na’vi princess Neytiri, who brought him to her people after receiving a sign from her deity Eywa. He was originally tasked with learning about the Na’vi people in order to provide intel on how to remove them from their land, but when he is taken in to learn their ways, he falls in love with their people and the princess herself. His new objective was finding a way to protect the Na’vi and their home. The movie taught a powerful lesson about the greed of humankind and the importance of not only man, but every living thing. The issue Avatar covered was the displacement of Indigenous peoples. There has been a history of colonization of societies due to them having what the others want, whether it be land, precious minerals, or other valuable resources. Even today, people are being removed from their homes due to the same reason. It’s a sad reality that still exists in the world.

Once the title for Avatar 2 was announced, an official synopsis was also released that reads: “Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the planet of Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na’vi race to protect their planet.” After the release of Avatar 2, three new sequels will ensue in the following years. Now, why did the first sequel take so long to come out? Many delays were due to the lengthy writing process, the possible competition from the 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and COVID. We will be seeing some familiar faces and new cast members in the upcoming film. Zoe Saldana will be returning as princess Neytiri, along with Sam Worthington as Jake Sully. It has been confirmed that Stephen Lang, the actor who played Colonel Miles Quaritch, will be returning as the main villain for the next four movies. Some of the new faces will include Fear the Walking Dead’s Cliff Curtis, Game of Throne’s Oona Chaplin, Marvel’s Michelle Yeoh, who played Ying Lin in Shang Chi, and Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel. After the excruciatingly long wait, I’m ecstatic about seeing Avatar 2: The Way of Water in theaters as soon as it’s released.