News from the James Cameron's AVATAR fanbase

The AVATAR franchise has a long history of delays as James Cameron chases his perfect vision. Whether it was the initial 2012 "we were too ambitious" delay or the 2020 pandemic delay, fans of James Cameron's AVATAR have weathered their fair share of disappointments as they await the next installments in the franchise. With the arrival of The Way of Water in December, it seemed as though the tide was turning in favor of the fans. Disney, however, had other plans.

Avatar 3 has been delayed until 2025 as Disney re-evaluates its release schedule and makes room for two new Star Wars films in the 2025 theatrical year. In addition, the fourth and fifth installments in the film saga have been rescheduled to arrive in 2029 and 2031 respectively. For fans who saw the first film in 2009, that's a staggering 22 years between the first and last films in the series.

The lining is silver, however. The delays that plagued Avatar: The Way of Water ended up producing a masterpiece of a film that vastly exceeded its predecessor in scope and emotional depth. Cameron benefits from additional time to hone his vision and execution, and the fans reap the benefits as well. In addition, the added time provides fans more space to engage with the franchise at its calmest before building the hype back up when the next sequel is imminent. In fact, here are three reasons why now may very well be the best time to be an Avatar​ fan.

The Way of Water brought an unprecedented resurgence of interest in the world of Pandora, and it's safe to say that things got quite, well, loud. ​As the hype fades and the noise settles, impactful discussion can once again take root. People can feel like they're being heard without having to compete with hundreds of other eager opinions. The extra year between films gives the Avatar fan community more time to be at its best: When able to foster real, lasting connections between people from all around the world.

If you're unsure where to find your voice as an Avatar fan, the Kelutral.org Discord server is the perfect place to dip your feet into the online conversation about the franchise. Whether you're just interested in discussing the films or diving deeper into the Na'vi cultures, Kelutral has topics and resources that you will find helpful.

The Avatar fan community has a history of pulling out all the stops for fan events, and now there's even more time to dedicate to bringing people together. OmatiCon, an annual virtual fan convention in January will be making its return not once but twice before Avatar 3. Each year has exceeded the previous one in scale and scope, so it's certain to be twice as incredible as it is now by the time the next Avatar sequel hits theaters in 2025.

In addition, this summer you can join Na'vi language teachers and other language learners for a first-of-its-kind learning experience called Na'vigation. The weekend-long boot camp serves as both an introduction to the Na'vi language from the Avatar films for fans who are only interested in it on a surface level, and a deep dive of practice and learning for fans who are already well invested in the language.

Ubisoft's reveal of their upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora couldn't be more timely for Avatar fans dismayed by the sequel delays. The first-person action-adventure game promises to allow players to explore the living, breathing world of Pandora both alone and with a friend in two-player co-op.

The Avatar community is at its best when bringing people together, and Frontiers of Pandora is no exception. As the December 7th release date for Avatar: Frontiers draws ever closer, fans will be looking for ways to find other players to explore Pandora with, and Kelutral.org has them covered. Visit the unofficial Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora looking for group Discord server to connect with other players, plan co-op play, and share your discoveries once December 7th arrives.

While the last several days may have been a roller-coaster of emotions, there's still plenty to be excited about. Franchise delays are never expected, and but they are easier to weather together. Take heart, Avatar fan. When the franchise is quiet, the community excels. Makto ko!

Avatar: The Way of Water is here and if you're like us you've already seen it at least twice in theaters. Though there's plenty to discuss in the film (and even more detail to find once the streaming and home video release is finalized later this year), you may also find yourself looking at Avatar 3's projected December 2024 release date with dismay. No need for that! Unlike the content drought between 2009 and 2022, there are an abundant amount of upcoming Avatar media projects to tide you over until 2024. Here's what's next for Avatar leading up to Avatar 3.

Ubisoft Massive's upcoming open-world Avatar RPG is scheduled for release in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which means any time between April of 2023 to March of 2024. Recent rumors have indicated that development is significantly underway, and that Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is breaking from traditional Ubisoft RPGs in innovative and exciting ways. We'll be keeping an eye on large game showcases this spring and summer for our next glimpse of what UbiMassive is cooking, but for now here's the in-engine first look that was released in 2021:

Also in the video game category, we have Avatar: Reckoning. Developed by Archosaur Games and published by Level Infinite, Avatar: Reckoning promises to be a large-scale multiplayer experience hand-crafted for mobile devices. Reckoning has already undergone two closed beta tests, but little other information is known about the game at this time- including a release window. Here's the Avatar: Reckoning reveal trailer from June of 2022:

As an organization dedicated to the Na'vi language, we would be remiss if we didn't also mention the updates to the Na'vi language on the horizon. A new Na'vi dialect, developed for the Metkayina reef peoples, has been revealed by Professor Paul Frommer. More details have been promised early this year, and a new dialect promises to radically change the ways that the Na'vi language can be spoken. In a similar manner, CJ Jones' Na'vi sign language will also see expansion during the gap between Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar 3. We already have a number of signs available, but await additional details about the Avatar sign language's grammar and syntax.

With so much Avatar content on its way and Avatar 3 nearly completed, the wait for the next Avatar sequel promises to be much less arduous than the 13 year gap between Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. Of course, if you can't suffer waiting alone then you should check out our Discord server, which is home to Avatar fans from around the world. Come join the conversation or learn Na'vi with us as we tick down the days until December, 2024!

It's no secret that AVATAR 2 has an uphill climb to convince audiences why they should return to James Cameron's mindscape of Pandora in December. With a gap of 13 years between AVATAR (2009) and The Way of Water (2022), even the most engaged audiences have questioned the need for a follow up to the highest grossing film of all time.

The race to convince audiences began this week in earnest, with Empire Magazine revealing a series of exclusive first-looks and character features from The Way of Water. Kate Winslet's Ronal, Sigourney Weaver's Kiri and Stephen Lang's Quaritch took center stage, uncovering a series of major surprises that the legacy sequel has in store for its audiences (can anyone say 'reincarnation'?)

Cameron and Jon Landau know that impressive visuals alone are not going to be enough to sell Avatar this time around. Avatar (2009) is often criticized for its simplistic plot, especially in online conversation. While it may appear that these reveals give too much information about The Way of Water, they definitively show that audiences can expect a more character-driven narrative moving forward.

Take the character Kiri, portrayed by Sigourney Weaver, for example. Kiri appears to be an evolution of Weaver's character Dr. Grace Augustine from Avatar (2009). She has clear ties to Dr. Augustine but is a teenage Na'vi who has been adopted by Jake and Neytiri, the protagonists from the first film.

In the same vein but on the opposite end of the spectrum is Stephen Lang's Quaritch, who has been resurrected as a "recombiant"- a human consciousness permanently embedded in a Na'vi avatar similar to what Jake experienced at the end of Avatar (2009). While the former appears to have no knowledge of her previous life, the latter does- and you'd best believe he's none too happy about it.

​For those who are familiar with Cameron's other works, this method of evolving characters between installments is a key part of his sequel toolbox. It creates a more compelling character dynamic, where characters the audience is familiar with have to grow or change to meet their new circumstances.

For critics of Avatar (2009), this may very well be the best news they can hear.

Fans can rest assured, Cameron is sure to keep enough of the plot a mystery to save more than a few surprises for audiences this December. The Way of Water's production was uncharacteristically free of leaks or spoilers, with only a handful coming to light in the entire 13 years between films. This inspires confidence that Cameron has a vision, and anything shown from The Way of Water​ is meticulously chosen to build excitement for a sequel more than a decade in the making.

Empire Magazine's full feature issue arrives this Thursday, July 7th. Expect more teasers and first look images leading up to the full article and until then, let us know which of these reveals was the most surprising to you! Avatar: The Way of Water arrives on December 16th, only in theaters.

In a surprise piece of news today, @officialavatar revealed that there is another upcoming AVATAR mobile game slated to release later in 2022! Dubbed, "AVATAR: Reckoning", the game is described as a RPG or MMO mobile shooter, depending on where you look. Early concept art for the game places heavy emphasis on the military presence of the RDA on Pandora. Even AVATAR drivers, traditionally more scientist than soldier, are heavily armed in the promotional images, which raises a lot of questions about the setting and plot of the game.

AVATAR: Reckoning is being developed primarily by Archosaur Games and published by Level Infinite, the latter of which is owned by Proxima Beta Pte, the Tencent-owned company behind popular PVP shooter PUBG mobile. The official game synopsis is listed below:

The announcement raises even more questions about the state of AVATAR: Pandora Rising, a player vs. player strategy game that was announced in September of 2019 and entered open beta in October of the same year. Pandora Rising has since been pulled from all app stores, pending a "rework" of the game in preparation for a global release. No further information has been given.

For breaking news and a place to discuss AVATAR: Reckoning in the coming months, join us on Discord.