With Avatar: The Way of Water just a month away from release, the official Twitter account for the film has dropped a new trailer. The trailer reveals some more footage of the film, including Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) interacting with his adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver).
Avatar: The Way of Water, set to release on December 16, is coming out thirteen years after its predecessor, 2009's Avatar. Avatar was recently rereleased to a phenomenal box office, showing that the franchise still has legs in it yet. The film is set roughly the same amount of time after the first in-universe; in the years following the first film, Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) have grown their family and their clan has mostly recovered from the massacre it suffered in the first film.
A new trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water was released onto the film's official Twitter account. The trailer features a glimpse at the oceans of Pandora, which are absolutely teeming with life. There's plenty of shots of Pandoran wildlife in general, showing that the film is committed to depicting the alien biosphere like never before. Jake Sully and Kiri share a moment of contemplation together as his daughter reveals she can hear the heartbeat of Eywa, the Pandoran goddess/hivemind. When asked by her father what it sounds like, the young girl merely tells him it is "mighty."
The new footage for Avatar: The Way of Water also reveals a look at the conflict of the film, with the return of humans to Pandora. Though most humans were sent off-world last film, the trailer reveals that humanity is back with a vengeance, seeking to recapture Pandora and mine it for Unobtanium. The Omaticaya appear to try and make cause with another tribe of sea-dwelling Na'vi, who tell them that they are unwelcome in their territory and who do not want to take part in any conflict.
The trailer leaves the audience with plenty to think about. It's long been said that the Avatar sequels need to tell a more compelling story, and this new look at the film offers some intriguing possibilities for the plot. Interestingly, Jake and Neytiri's daughter, Kiri, is played by actress Sigourney Weaver - who previously portrayed Dr. Grace Augustine in the first film. Kiri is clearly not an average Na'vi - in the trailer, the bioluminescent spots on her body light up, and it seems as though she's commanding the Pandoran wildlife to attack. And crucially, she appears to have 5 fingers - a sign that she's probably part Avatar herself. Could she have a connection with the late Dr. Augustine?
With a runtime that's reportedly currently sitting at 3 hours and 10 minutes, the movie promises to dive deep into Pandora and the next stage in its story. Though vatar: The Way of Water is projected to earn less at the box office than its predecessor, the film looks more stunning than the first and quite possibly more intriguing.
Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters on December 16.