The first full scenes for James Cameron's Avatar
2 were shown at D23 yesterday and according to descriptions and reactions, it seems like
we're going to be getting a lot of interesting character dynamics come the full film.
There was also reactions towards the visual technology and a small bit of news surrounding
the filming on future Avatar sequels, and I'm going to
be discussing all of it in this video.
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But without further a do, lets dive into the Avatar 2 footage that was shown at
D23.
So attendees at D23 were handed 3D glasses to witness new scenes from James Cameron’s
Avatar 2, and while they are not being released to the public, there have been descriptions
of the footage released online and some other reactions
to it as well.
There were 6 different scenes shown to those in the audience, so let's breakdown what was
seen and what it means in relation to the story, characters and visual
presentation of the film.
Starting with the first scene, apparently this introduction was intended to be a showcase
for the 3D that fans will get to experience this December, one
that with no dialogue, displays the Na'vi, swimming in the oceans of Pandora.
Apparently you get a look at some of the new underwater creatures
and it's a scene that truly highlight the leaps in technology that this sequel is making.
The combination of high frame rate and hyper-realistic vfx is something that has been mentioned
by those at the event, with some saying that it looked beautiful even on the screen at
D23 for 7000 people in attendance.
A few others did say that it may take a while to get used to,
being that it's works so differently on the eyes, but the 3D is something that elevates
the footage, with the first clip giving a good indication of what we are going to get
from a visual perspective.
Moving on, the other 5 scenes that were shown, apparently provided a lot more info on character
relationships and the central focus points when it comes to the story.
I'm going to quote Cinema Blend for the descriptions of the next
5 scenes because they seem to have provided the most detailed recap of the footage that
were shown.
For the second scene, they said, "the clip shifted the action away from the beauty
of nature to a scene set in a laboratory with Kiri – the new young Na'vi character played
by Sigourney Weaver.
As Kiri looks at the avatar of Dr. Grace Augustine (Weaver's character
in the first movie) in a tank and watches an old video of her in human form on a monitor,
another unidentified kid Na'vi asks who knocked her
up.
The number one guess is Norm Spellman, though that's an idea that Kiri is clearly disgusted
by.
The debate clearly strikes a chord with Spider, who suggests that sometimes it's
better to not know who your father is.
Why?
Because it seems that Spider is the son of Miles Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang in
the previous film".
So according to that description from Cinema Blend this second clip established
that there is going to be some intriguing questions surrounding the parents of character
like both Kiri and Spider.
And it does call back to that Empire article that I did a video
on a few months ago, where they revealed that a lot of the human characters on Pandora were
those who had survived or where born during the
previous war.
Having Spider as Miles son, is going to provide another aspect to the conflict of this upcoming
war between them, and it will probabaly add to this idea of blurring the
lines between human and Na'vi.
So a much more interesting second clip that sounds like it's definetely bringing a more
fascinating sense of plot and where the disputes will ultimately
lie.
When it comes to the last 4 clips, Cinema Blend did say that a lot of this was narrative
based, but it did work like the previous ones to setup more of the conflict that the Way
of Water is going to be centred on.
Cinema Blend stated, "the third Avatar: The Way Of Water D23 Expo clip was clearly chosen
because of the action featured.
Based solely on context provided by the scene, it seems that there will be a part
in the movie where the children of Jake and Neytiri get kidnapped, and the parents execute
a rescue mission.
In the middle of the forest in pouring rain, Na'vi heroes move silently and
start an assault.
One guy is taken down with an axe to the back of the head, while Neytiri positions herself
in a tree to take aim with her bow and an arrow.
She has to wait for her moment to get the right shot, but when it comes, she takes it,
and she ends up shooting one of them right in the eye.
After this happens, all hell breaks loose, guns start firing, and
the kids try to fight back.
The leader of the group (who may nor may not be Quaritch as a Na'vi) sees the feathers
on the arrow fired and calls out to "Mrs. Sully," saying that they
have unfinished business, and mocks her "litter of half breeds."
As this happens, one of the bad Na'vi takes aim at the sky with a gun, but
the scene cut before the shot is fired".
In relation to scene nummber 4, CinemaBlend said, "The next Avatar 2 clip was seemingly
set in the aftermath of the previous one, featuring Jake and Neytiri fighting with one
another while their children watch them.
Jake argues that the they are in danger as they are being hunted by Miles Quaritch and
that they need to find a new home so that they can be safe.
Neytiri, on the other hand, has always lived in the forest and made a promise to her dying
father that she would always be around to help her people.
Jake says that staying around is putting Neytiri's community in danger, and
while he has no plan about what to do, protecting his family is what he can do.
He explains that no matter where they go, family is our
fortress."
In the empire magazine from before, it was said that Jake and Neytiri would find their
community in danger towards the start of the film, before spreading out to the clans on
the oceans to help build an alliance, so this does sound like it's from earlier on as pointed
out.
They also said in that magazine that Jake and his family would find it hard to
convince the other clans to help them and that they feel quite distrusting of the central
family, due to their mix of Navi and humans fighters.
So it sounds like for a lot of the runtime, Jake, Neytiri, his children and others
on the team are going to have to try to convince the other clans that these humans they've
taken under their guard are safe and want to
help fight for the future of pandora.
And this is essentially highlighted more in the next scene that was shown at D23.
CinemaBlend said, "in the scene, a family of Na'vi that doesn't
look familiar debate about one of the characters "bonding with an outcast."
The paternal figure in the group delivers a lecture about tribe history and how killing
only leads to more killing, which is apparently why the outcast
in question was kicked out of their community.
One of the characters stands up to this paternal figure and fights against the tradition,
saying, "I know what I know."
So it seems like this will be one of the central issues of Avatar 2's plot, stemming from the
fallout from the previous war, with humans being adopted and
taken in by Jake's clan becoming a problem for how other clans and Navis respond to it.
And in regards to the final clip CinemaBlend said "the last one brought the action back
to the water and the Sully family.
Apparently taking place after the clan has moved out of the
forest and to a new home, the hero Na'vi are told that they must learn how to ride aquatic
creatures that look like small and friendly Plesiosaurs if they wish to stay with a new
tribe.
Based on the evidence presented, it's not a particularly hard skill to acquire, as the
young Na'vi bond with the creatures quickly before hoping on their backs and being taken
deep into the water".
They said, "while it wasn't a substantial scene, the sequence did provide even more
beautiful underwater, 3D cinematography, and it does seem like the movie will be
furthering the themes about the importance of having a relationship with nature".
And as stated before that seems to be linked to them trying to convince the other Na'vi
clans that siding with these human outcasts, is the only
way to hold back the evolved threat seeking to destroy them for good.
So the footage and scene descriptions seems to showcase that Avatar: The Way of Water
will primarily focus on Jake's family, the dynamics with their children and how other
clans react to them following their process of adopting and
protecting human figures.
Also with the scene that involved the detailed recordings from Dr. Grace Augustine, it suggests
that maybe she had more research on what Pandora is hiding beneath
it's oceans.
I would think that this is going to act like the Eywa of this particular film in that we
learn something transcending about the oceans that Jake and his family have fled
to.
It would tie into James Cameron's love and discoveries surrounding the ocean and make
for an important statement about the natural world and preserving it.
That's just my guess based on what we're hearing and it definitely seems like this will become
more urgent and compelling within the context of the violent new
war between the Na'vi and the human forces led by Miles Quaritch.
Many of the reactions to it seem quite impressed by what was shown and while there were some
who said that it's going to be hard to adjust to the high frame rate
3d of 48 frames per second, they imagine that in a more suitable cinematic environment,
this will look great.
We'll have to see when it comes to the new frame rate being used in extended
scenes, but for now, it seems like the extended footage did tease what's to come and suggests
that The Way Of Water is making big pushes towards a more absorbing plot and again, groundbreaking
digital technology.
The only other piece of news that came out of the event was that Avatar 4 is now officially
filming.
Of course, we still need to see the second film
and Cameron needs to deliver with both that and Avatar 3 before getting our hopes up surrounding
the 2 that follow.
But one thing I will say is that they must be confident in all the
upcoming projects because, for one, they are already deep into Avatar 3's post production
and 2, Cameron and co have been filming and working
on these films for a long time, making sure that the final product is exactly what they
want.
Time will soon tell, and while I personally believe that Avatar 2 is going to do wonders
at the box office, I'm hoping they deliver on
all of these narrative aspects that the footage at D23 showed off.
But that was my video discussing the footage descriptions for Avatar 2 at D23.
We'll have to see how the film is recieved when it releases in December, but to be honest,
I am quite excited for it even if it has been so
long since the original.
I still think a lot of people are underestimating Cameron and how he continuously raises the
bar with his projects in different ways, and based on these scene
descriptions it seems like he's trying to go all out once again.
Hopefully it pays off and builds the excitement for more Avater films that
follow.
But let me know down below in the comments section what you think towards these descriptions
of the Avatar 2 footage alongside whether you are excited for James Cameron's new
film.
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