Avatar 2 Premiere Date Delayed By Technology: Rumors and News Update

Jul 20, 2015 08:14 PM EDT

Director James Cameron reportedly delayed Avatar 2's release date to 2017 in order to wait for new technology to be developed. In fact, the veteran filmmaker is no stranger to waiting. Cameron reportedly delayed filming for the first Avatar film until the necessary technology was available.

Cameron Awaits Nonexistent Technology to Be Developed

For now, Cameron has remained mum on what exactly he needs. Still, there are tidbits of information floating around on the internet. According to the latest news update from Clapway, the technology allows for underwater motion capture.  Various web sources report that Cameron wants to incorporate the deep depths of Pandora's ocean into his upcoming film. So, the fact he is waiting for such technology comes as no surprise. Also, Cameron may be looking for improvements with improved facial expression capture, as well as new lighting systems.  

Production for Avatar 2 began in 2014, and is expected to wrap up three years later. Meanwhile, Cameron has been hard at work crafting scripts for Avatars 3 and 4. As of now, both films are expected to debut in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Avatar 2 was originally slated for a Christmas Day 2016 release. Last month, the film's director James Cameron decided to push the debut by one year. So, the Avatar sequel will not be in theaters until late 2017.

Another reason for the delay is Cameron's decision to iron out the details for not one, but three sequels. According to Screen Rant, Cameron had already created material enough to fill in four movies. He subsequently had to trim down the content.

Cameron is working with four different screenwriters. Avatar 2 will be penned by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the creative duo behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Avatar 3 will be written by Josh Friedman whose credits include Terminator: The Sarah Conor Chronicles. Avatar 4 will be written by Shane Saleno, who co-wrote Savages with director Oliver Stone.

Who Will Compose Avatar 2's Musical Score

Last month, Academy Award Winning film composer James Horner died in a plane crash outside Santa Barbara, California. There is so far no word on who will replace the 61-year-old, who has composed music for a number of Cameron's films that included Titanic Aliens, and Avatar. Horner was slated to compose scores for Avatar 2 and 3.

Horner's credits include Field of Dreams, An American Tail, Sneakers, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Apollo 13, A Perfect Storm and Troy.