Twelve years later, we might all still be waiting for the long-promised sequel to Avatar, but that doesn’t mean the film’s crew hasn’t been working hard or making a difference. Production is currently working on multiple movies at once in New Zealand, and the team recently decided to show their appreciation for the country by donating a few gifts for a Christmas toy drive.
And by a few gifts, I mean so many gifts they don’t even fit into a single picture. Producer Jon Landau, who worked on the first movie as well as other hits like Titanic, dropped said picture on Instagram to thank the entire crew for coming together to donate toys, and the shot is really a bit overwhelming. You can check it out below…
There’s nothing quite like opening presents when you’re a little kid. There’s so much excitement and wonder, and it’s awesome to think about all the little kids that will get something special this year because of these gifts. So many of them are favorites I remember from childhood too. I definitely spot Hungry Hungry Hippos, as well as Connect Four. There’s also Nerf guns, dolls, Uno, a Thanos action figure, Jenga, colored pencils, a Frozen book, soccer balls and a ton of stuff I’m apparently too old to know about.
As for Avatar 2, a lot of the more recent conversation has, of course, been about the film’s release date. As some others have moved thanks to the Omicron variant, people have speculated about a possible departure from its current slot next December. Nothing official has been announced, however, and it’s hard to imagine the studio is going to want to delay again, even if it’s to prevent competition against Aquaman 2.
Besides, everything we’ve seen so far from Avatar 2 looks visually stunning. We still don’t know a ton about the actual plot, but all of the pictures look incredible. We know the actors went to great lengths to get the best possible underwater shots, and given how beautiful the first movie looked, it’s hard to imagine the decade plus in technological advancements won’t make this new movie even more of a marvel. So, I’m not saying it’s going to want really heated competition, but if you’re Avatar 2, you gotta assume your fans will show up.
Then again, it’s unclear how many Avatar fans there really are at this point. The first film came out all the way back in 2009. It crushed at the box office and produced some incredible theme park rides, but it remains to be seen how truly rooted in pop culture the franchise is. The movie will do business, but exactly how much business remains to be seen. My guess is with good reviews and buzzy word of mouth around the visuals, it’ll go nuts, but if the reviews are mediocre or worse, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Regardless, well played on the Avatar crew for picking up all these presents for kids. Each one of these will be excitedly opened, and if they bring some happiness into some children’s lives, that’s a perfect outcome.