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Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios
Culture > Entertainment

You Can Already Mark Your Calendar For The ‘Avatar 3’ Release Date

I don’t think anyone was prepared when it was revealed that the blockbuster film, Avatar, would be getting a sequel — especially when the first film had been out for over a decade. However, since the announcement, fans of the film have been awaiting its release. Now that Avatar: The Way of Water hit theaters beginning Friday, Dec. 16, they can see if the sequel was worth the hype and await the release of Avatar 3 while coming up with their own theories about the characters. 

For those that don’t know, Avatar: The Way of Water follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Ney’tiri (Zoe Saldaña) now that they have a family together. However, their peace is quickly destroyed when they must leave their home and explore different regions of Pandora while Jake is must fight in a war against the humans. 

Does Avatar 3 have a release date yet?

Not much is known about Avatar 3, considering the sequel just came out, but some of the behind-the scenes information has been revealed. The movie has been filmed in its entirety since it was filmed at the same time as The Way of Water. As for a release date, it is expected to come out on December 20, 2024 according to IMDb, but nothing is confirmed yet. It is also rumored that the film will be called Avatar: The Seed Bearer, but the title is still tentative to change. 

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Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Many cast members from the Avatar franchise will return in the third movie.

The cast will include many recurring actors from the franchise, such as Worthington and Saldaña in their respective roles. Michelle Yeoh as Dr. Karina Mogue, Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine, Stephen Lang as Miles Quaritch, Jamie Flatters as Neteyam, Britain Dalton as Lo’ak, Trinity Bliss as Tukitirey, and Jack Champion as Miles “Spider” Soccorro are also set to return. The screenwriters for the film are Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and James Cameron, who created the characters and wrote their backstories.

What is the plot of Avatar 3?

Jon Landau revealed that like all of the Avatar movies, the plot of Avatar 3 will focus on the Sully family as they go through different challenges in their life. Cameron also told French newspaper 20 Minutes that the film will bring in the “Ash People.” Fire will play a significant part in the storyline, contrasting the previous two movies with the focus on water and forests. Similarly, the viewpoints of the humans and the Na’vi that we’ve seen in the first two films will be flipped, with the humans being portrayed positively and the Na’vi being portrayed negatively. It’s unknown what exactly that will entail and how, but it’ll certainly be interesting. 

Though Cameron has plans for five Avatar movies, Avatar 3 could be the final installment depending on how The Way of Water performs in theaters. Avatar 3 may also be the last Avatar movie he directs, if it does get picked up, according to Deadline. Regardless of whether or not he does direct the potential last two installments, Cameron said he hopes that the audience will get to see Avatar 4

Whether you’re an avid fan of the Avatar franchise or someone who recently watched the sequel and are curious about if or when the third installment is coming, now you know all there is for the time being about its future. If you haven’t seen the films, I recommend you take a couple hours of your day and watch them so you’ll be fully prepared once Dec. 20, 2024 rolls around to watch Avatar 3. 

Born and raised in Arizona, Kayleigh Shaw is a Her Campus National Writer. She mainly writes for the Culture section, primarily focused on the latest entertainment news, but will occasionally write about life and career, giving advice to a wide array of readers. Outside of Her Campus, Kayleigh was also a part of Rod Pulido’s Street Team for his debut novel, Chasing Pacquiao and completed social media challenges to promote the book. She also hopes to one day write for Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources. where she will continue to use her love of all things pop culture to her advantage. She also graduated from Glendale Community College in May 2022 with an Associate's Degree in English. When Kayleigh's not working on journalism pieces, she can be found writing poems and short stories, reading, watching TikToks, listening to their favorite podcasts, listening and dancing to Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift, watching movies and TV shows on Netflix and Hulu (while crying over fictional characters and relationships.) She would live in a library and avoid the rest of the world if she could. She also drinks coffee like a Gilmore and often goes down rabbit holes researching their hyper fixations.