James Cameron's 'Avatar' Sequels Halt Production

The ‘Avatar’ sequels become the latest victim of the coronavirus

Today has seen yet another upcoming film production halted due to the Coronavirus as the sequels to James Cameron’s ‘Avatar‘, eagerly awaited and a long time in production, currently on location in New Zealand have shut down. The films were in the middle of preparing to shoot a large block of filming in New Zealand’s Wellington’s Stone Street Studio in April before the plug was pulled according to producer Jon Landau.

Landau explained that there wasn’t an answer to questions of when the film would restart production in New Zealand but he is re-assessing the production schedule and that the focus would now be on getting as many minutes of special effects work as they could to hand over to acclaimed effects company Weta Digital (The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies) to work on during the shutdown.

The films have long been gestating after the success of the 2009 original and work on the four new films was expected to be completed by the end of this year. Cameron is filming all four sequels simultaneously with an eye to release the first sequel in 2021 with the subsequent films being released at the rate of one per year starting in December 2023. The shutdown of the production may mean that the films or at least the first sequel may miss its release date of December 17, 2021.

James Cameron's 'Avatar' Sequels Halt Production

The films join an ever-growing list of productions, both cinematic and for television and the streaming market that has had to postpone their schedules due to the escalating medical epidemic. Every day, we are hearing the news that upcoming projects have shut down on a temporary basis and we at The Future Of The Force will bring you all the latest news as soon as it hits the wires.

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Carl Roberts is a Senior Staff Writer and Books and Literature Correspondent for Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!

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