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Avatar 2 sees Star Wars 8’s postponed premiere, raises it a delay of its own

Published Jan 22nd, 2016 11:29AM EST

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Movies… what a roller coaster ride! Just a few days go we learned that Star Wars VIII isn’t going to be released in late May 2017, as was initially announced. Boo! But then we found out that December 2017 will be a glorious month for moviegoers as the new Star Wars episode and Avatar 2 were set to duke it out in theaters. Yay!

However, it’s time to curb our enthusiasm once again, as James Cameron’s first of three upcoming Avatar films won’t be ready for that highly anticipated Christmas 2017 debut.

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“Christmas of ’17 is the target…At least, that’s what we’ve announced. But I don’t consider that to be as important as the fact that when we get all three films done, we drop them a year apart,” Cameron told the Montreal Gazette last month. “I call it a meta-narrative that runs across the three movies. Each film stands alone, but it also tells one much larger story.”

However, The Wrap now says that Avatar 2 has again been delayed. But as SlashFilm points out, this isn’t necessarily a surprise considering Disney’s decision to go with Star Wars VIII for a Christmas 2017 release. Disney must have known it wouldn’t face competition from Avatar 2 during the busy month of December, which would risk hurting Star Wars VIII’s bottom line.

It’s not clear when Avatar 2 is coming out at this point, as Fox has not committed to any date. But after giving up the Christmas 2017 slot, it’s likely that Fox will also abandon plans to release Avatar 3 and 4 in December of each of the two years that follow. However, this is all speculation at this point.

In case you were wondering, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana will both reprise their roles in Avatar 2, and Sigourney Weaver might also return in some capacity.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.