New ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ trailer features new side of Pandora

20th Century Studios released a new trailer previewing the much-anticipated sequel to the hit movie “Avatar,” featuring a closer look at the oceans of Pandora.

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The sequel, titled “Avatar: The Way of Water,” will be released in December, 13 years after the original hit movie theaters. The original, released in 2009, is the top-grossing movie of all time, with a lifetime gross of $2,923,905,528, according to IMDbPro’s Box Office Mojo.

The story is set 10 years after the original, which was set in 2154, and follows Jake and Neytiri’s family, including their four children, Variety reported.

“The story is about family, about our families trying to stay together [and] the lengths to which we all go to protect each other and protect the place where we live,” Sigourney Weaver, who is returning to the franchise in the new role of Kiri, told Variety. “It’s very much based on [James Cameron’s] family and his joy in the family; and also, how vulnerable you are when you have children.”

James Cameron directed both the original and the new installment, and told The Hollywood Reporter that he was reassured that fans still have an appetite for the film after the first trailer’s debut in May brought in 148.6 million views on its first day.

“Avatar: The Way of Water” is the first of four planned sequels to “Avatar,” which Cameron is reported to have filmed simultaneously, Rolling Stone reported. The later films are scheduled to be released in 2024, 2026 and 2028.

Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis and Edie Falco all join the cast in “Avatar: The Way of Water,” which arrives in theaters Dec. 16.

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