First footage of Avatar 2 unveiled at CinemaCon

Arriving 13 years after the original film, the teaser showed human Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Na’vi Neytiri, (Zoe Saldaña) on the lush blue moon, Pandora. The clip featured images of the couple, Pandora’s blue water, Toruk (the flying creatures you may remember from the first film) and some new water creatures.

The footage was presented at the Las Vegas festival by James Cameron who joined via a video link. The director, who is in New Zealand finishing off the film, said that he “set out to test the limits of what cinema can do”.

The teaser trailer will be released to the public next week, showing exclusively in cinemas ahead of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. The Avatar sequel’s title — Avatar: The Way of Water — was also confirmed during the CinemaCon screening.

The new film will follow the story of Jake and Neytiri who now have a family, as they navigate new parts of Pandora and face new and familiar threats.

The film will see Sigourney Weaver return as Dr. Grace Augustine and Stephen Lang return as Colonel Miles Quaritch. Stars Vin Diesel and Kate Winslet will be joining the cast.

Avatar: The Way of Water is one of the four Avatar sequels being made at the same time. According to producer Jon Landau, each of the sequels has been written to work as a stand-alone film, but they also work together as a “greater connected epic saga”.

“Ultimately, the sequels are a story about family, and the lengths parents will go through to keep that family together and keep them safe,” Landau explained.

In a December interview with Entertainment Weekly Cameron spoke about the making of the four sequels. He said: "It sounds kind of nuts, the process. I mean, if Avatar hadn’t made so much damn money, we’d never do this — because it’s kind of crazy."

The film will be presented in 3D, but different versions of the franchise are being created so that they can be played cinemas throughout the world. John Fithian, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, said at CinemaCon that there will be more versions of Avatar 2 than any film “in the history of movies”.

According to Cameron, he started planning the first sequel in 2012 and filming began in 2017. Avatar: The Way of Water is set primarily around and underwater, so has required years of research, training, and work on special effects.

According to Landau, a restored version of the original Avatar will also be released in cinemas on September 23.

It’s been over a decade since James Cameron’s first Avatar film came to our screens. The film followed the relationship between Neytiri, and paralysed human Jake, who became mobile by using brain-linked Avatars.

The fantasy film was a resounding success, gaining critical acclaim for its ground-breaking special effects. It won three Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects in 2010 and it remains the top-grossing film of all time, bringing in $2.85 billion (£2.3 billion) worldwide at the box office.

Avatar: The Way of Water is scheduled for a December 16 release.