James Cameron’s long-awaited “Avatar” sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” splashes into theaters December 16. The follow-up feature focuses on the Sully family — Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their children — as their land becomes torn apart. Per an official synopsis, the Sully family endures danger, battles to the death, and tragedy throughout the film. The couple is displaced from their homes and flees to the Metkayina’s waterworld, which disrupts tribal politics. Cameron directs the feature and produces alongside Jon Landau. Original stars Worthington and Saldaña reprise their respective roles as Jake and Neytiri, with Sigourney Weaver also returning. Franchise newcomers Kate Winslet and Michelle Yeoh enter the mysterious world of Pandora, along with Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, and Jemaine Clement.

The first “Avatar” movie made history, grossing $2 billion, and will now be released with a 4K high dynamic range restoration. “I was a little concerned that I had stretched the tether too far, in our fast-paced, modern world, with ‘Avatar 2’ coming in 12 years later,” Cameron previously said. “Right until we dropped the teaser trailer, and we got 148 million views in 24 hours. There’s that scarce seen but wondered at principle, which is, ‘Wow, we haven’t seen that in a long time, but I remember how cool it was back then.’ Does that play in our favor? I don’t know. I guess we’re going to find out.” Lead star Worthington teased that the film is a family adventure drama, where “not only are the stakes life and death, but the conflicts are quite domestic.” “You’re still having these arguments with kids that you have every day, like, ‘Pick up your clothes, eat your food,’ even though the world is at war,” Worthington recently said. The cast endured months of training for their respective roles, with both Weaver and Winslet learning how to hold their breath for more than seven minutes underwater as Cameron refused to opt for “dry for wet” production. “Avatar: The Way of Water” premieres December 16 in theaters. Check out the trailer below. For all the details on “Avatar: The Way of Water,” click here.

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