'Avatar 3' Delayed, First Behind-The-Scenes Photo Revealed

By Allison Schonter

Avatar 3 has been delayed until 2025, but fans don't have to wait to get their next look at Pandora. Following a shakeup of Disney's release calendar confirmed Tuesday that delays the next three installments of James Cameron's blockbuster franchise by a year, meaning Avatar 5 will not release until 2031, producer Jon Landau gave fans their first look at the upcoming movie when he took to Twitter to share a behind-the-scenes photo.

The image, marking one of the first to come from the movie, didn't give much away and simply showed a camera with a still image from production showing a young Na'vi standing beside an older Na'vi. In sharing the post, Landau also offered some explanation regarding the franchise's delay, telling fans that "each Avatar film is an exciting but epic undertaking that takes time to bring to the quality level we as filmmakers strive for and audiences have come to expect." He went on to confirm that the cast and crew of Avatar 3 "is hard at work." Variety reported that the delays and the space between the three remaining films "will allow the post-production and visual effects department to continue expanding, developing and refining the different ecosystems across the vast world of Pandora."

The upcoming film, which does not yet have a title, will shift focus away from Jake Sully and to his son, Lo'ak te Suli Tsyeyk'itan, who will instead act as narrator. Cameron also confirmed to France's 20 Minutes, per PEOPLE, that the third installment will introduce audiences to other tribes, including the "Ash People."

"The fire will be represented by the 'Ash People.' I want to show the Na'vi from another angle because, so far, I have only shown their good sides," Cameron said. "In the early films, there are very negative human examples and very positive Na'vi examples. In Avatar 3, we will do the opposite."

Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Zoe Saldaña (Neytiri), Sigourney Weaver (Dr. Grace Augustine), Joel David Moore (Norm Spellman), Jack Champion (Javier 'Spider' Socorro), Stephen Lang (Colonel Miles Quaritch) and Britain Dalton (Lo'ak) are all set to reprise their roles in the upcoming film. Game of Thrones alum Oona Chaplin, meanwhile, is joining the franchise as Varang, the leader of the Ash People. The movie, filmed in New Zealand and directed by Cameron, was originally set to be released in theaters on Dec. 20, 2024. It has since been pushed back to Dec. 19, 2025. Avatar 4 has been shifted to Dec. 21, 2029 and Avatar 5, the final installment, to Dec. 19, 2031.

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