AVATAR 2 Delayed Until 2017 And Could Effect BATTLE ANGEL's Development

There is word from James Cameron (via Coming Soon) that his Avatar sequel with the working title of Avatar 2 is now being delayed from it's original release date of December 2016 to December 2017. The delays are due to the extensive writing needed to make sure all three sequels are cohesive with each other. Cameron still expects to shoot all three films at the same which is likely apart of the delay.

“There’s a layer of complexity in getting the story to work as a saga across three films that you don’t get when you’re making a stand-alone film,” said Cameron.“We’re writing three simultaneously. And we’ve done that so that everything tracks throughout the three films. We’re not just going to do one and then make up another one and another one after that and parallel with that, we’re doing all the design. So we’ve designed all the creatures and the environments.” 

This makes sense since the team of writers include Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver working on Avatar 2 and Avatar 3, while Shane Salerno is writing Avatar 4 . James Cameron being involved with development on all three scripts. A rather large task since he's also directing all three films as well.

The news will likely also see delays with both Avatar 3 and Avatar 4 release dates as well pushing them to December 2018 and December 2019.

Hey look! It's a Battle Angel t-shirt.

Like most, we were all shocked when James Cameron announced he was making three sequels to Avatar. It's a bizarre move on the part of Cameron considering all the criticism he received for the film's boring and predictable story.

I'm sort of lamenting to all the wonderful films he could be making instead of focusing on this sub-par science fiction franchise. It's $2.7 billion box office is likely one of driving factors along with his nutty belief these films could help the environmental movement.

Fans like myself would rather see James Cameron focusing on more gritty material and getting back to his Terminator and Aliens roots.

Back in 2013, James Cameron did confirm to fellow director Alfonso Cauron during the TAG DF event that he was indeed going to be returning to Battle Angel Alita once production on Avatar 3 was completed in 2017. The project titled Alita is an adaptation of the manga and anime.

Combined with news that Avatar 2 will be delayed until 2017 and a third sequel added to the lineup since his announced development plans for Alita. I'm curious if the film will ever get made or will be further delayed.

Cameron had been originally developing the manga/anime adaptation's script with screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis (Ghost In The Shell, Terminator Genesys, Avatar, Shutter Island) while shooting Avatar and you can even spot him wearing a Battle Angel t-shirt on the set in the picture above.

Jim started commissioning design work on the film in 2008 which gives you an idea how long he's been working on the project. Cameron would eventually shoot test-footage for the film but it never seemed to make it's way online or to the public.

Alita, a cyborg who has lost all memories and is found in a garbage heap by a cybernetics doctor who rebuilds and takes care of her. She discovers that there is one thing she remembers, the legendary cyborg martial art Panzer Kunst, which leads to her becoming a Hunter Warrior or bounty hunter. The story traces Alita's attempts to rediscover her past and the characters whose lives she impacts on her journey. 



The project is like a mix of Blade Runner, Rollerball and Akira meets Ghost In The Shell with organ/robotic implant thievery. Littered with hardcore action and violence more in the realm of a Paul Verhoeven film like Robcop or Total Recall. Not to mention the protagonist of the film would be a very young girl.

During it's original development there had been a large demand to see Juno's Ellen Page take the role of Alita. Since then she would go on to star in huge blockbusters such as X-Men Days of Future Past and Christopher Nolan's Inception. Fox has even played with the idea of a Kitty Pryde spin-off but no official plans have been made.

It's more than likely that Page has aged-out of the role since the test footage was described to have an actress that looked like she was fourteen years old.

A younger actress who I think would be perfect for the role is Joey King (The Conjuring, Fargo, Crazy Stupid Love, Battle LA). You might remember she played a young Talia al Ghul in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises.

SOURCE: AP

Arnold Schwarzenegger To Play Villainous General In James Cameron's AVATAR Sequels?

LatinoReview has an update concerning James Cameron's Avatar sequels which would see Arnold Schwarzenegger re-teaming with Jim after 20 years. Arnold is said to be playing a villainous General in the film or films. I assume that he'll be sent to Pandora to regain control of the planet. At one point Cameron was aiming to bring Schwarzenegger into the Alien franchise (studio moved on without Cameron on both Alien 3 and Alien 5), so it'll be interesting to see how he fits into the world of Avatar. It's possible this villain could be apart of more than one of the three sequels currently being written.

James Cameron And Fox Announce AVATAR 2 (December 2016), AVATAR 3 (December 2017) And AVATAR 4 (December 2018)

James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have made it official (via Deadline) as they have announced plans to make three sequels to smash hit Avatar. We've heard previously that Cameron was currently prepping production for Avatar 2 sometime in 2014 but this is the first official word of Avatar 4. The studio and Cameron have announced plans to release Avatar 2 in December 2016, Avatar in December 2017 and Avatar 4 in December 2018. They also announce writers Josh Friedman (Word of The Worlds), Rick Jaffa/Amanda Silver (Rise/Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes) and Shane Salerno have been tapped to help write the three sequels with James.

James Cameron To DIrect THE INFORMATIONIST After AVATAR Sequels

HeatVision report that James Cameron will be eating his own words as he's signed on to direct The Informationist based on the novel by Taylor Stevens for 20th Century Fox. Cameron previously announced he was only focusing Avatar films for the rest of his career. That doesn't seem to be the case with Battle Angel and now The Informationist on his to-direct-list. The main character is described as a mix between Salander and Sherlock.

Centers on Vanessa “Michael” Munroe, a woman born in central Africa who spent her teenage years as a protege of gunners and mercenaries. She reinvents herself as an information dealer for wealthy clients, but when a billionaire hires her to find his daughter who went missing in Africa, Munroe finds herself back in the Dark Continent.

James Cameron Comments On 'BATTLE ANGEL' Status

There was some concern that when James Cameron announced he would only be focusing on Avatar sequels and giving up on producing/directing new projects. A few people thought that this meant Battle Angel aka Alita would be on the chopping-block. Cameron gave a brief comment to AICN when they asked if he was giving up on Alita. James said it's still happening but not for a few years. A script for Alita has been completed along with test-footage being shot. It's expected that Avatar 2 and even Avatar 3 will shoot before Alita moves forward. Avatar 4 and more installments are in the cards as well.

"No. I still love that project. But Battle Angel is not going to happen for a few years."

'AVATAR 4' A Possibility, So What Happens With 'BATTLE ANGEL'?

It's starting look like James Cameron might be putting hold Battle Angel: Alita to focus on a numerous amount of Avatar sequels. As he recently talked to NewYorkTimes revealing that he wants to make Avatar 4. He confirms that his main focus will be the Avatar franchise and won't be developing or producing any new projects. James is currently writing Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 which is expected to start production in a year or two.

"I’ve divided my time over the last 16 years over deep ocean exploration and filmmaking. I’ve made two movies in 16 years, and I’ve done eight expeditions. Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm. So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the 'Avatar' business. Period. That’s it. I’m making 'Avatar 2,' 'Avatar 3,' maybe 'Avatar 4,' and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts," Cameron said about his future plans. "And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the 'Avatar' landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way. And anything I can’t say in that area, I want to say through documentaries, which I’m continuing. I’ve done five documentaries in the last 10 years, and I’ll hopefully do a lot more. In fact, I’m doing one right now, which is on this, the Deep Sea Challenge project that we just completed the first expedition. So that’ll be a film that’ll get made this year and come out first quarter of next year."

Last month Cameron told MTV he still intends to direct Alita but with three time-consuming sequels to Avatar can we really believe he'll be able to fit it in? On the other hand, with Avatar 2's 2014 release date being changed could Alita (with a completed script) end up going into production first? Cameron did shoot test-footage for Alita a while back and was finishing rewrites on the script while Avatar was originally shooting (wearing a Battle Angel tee on set in the above image), so anything is possible.

Cameron Says Avatar 2 Coming Christmas 2014, Avatar 3 In 2015

James Cameron has revealed to EW a working release date for Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. He says they will be aiming for Christmas 2014 release for Avatar 2 and the third film the following year. He goes on to mention he is currently writing and again confirms the films will be shot back to back. I assume the three films could end up being seamlessly interweave together similar to what was done with Lord of The Rings. The films are expected to spend time exploring the rest of Pandora including it's oceans.

"I am in the process of writing the next two Avatar films now. We are planning to shoot them together and post them together, and we will probably release them not quite back to back, but about a year apart. Christmas ’14 and ’15 is the current plan."