I kind of feel bad for Avatar 2. When was the last time you read a positive article about the upcoming film? Don’t get me wrong, some people DO want to see James Cameron’s long-in-development sequel but most people talk about the movie with a mix of disdain, ridicule and sarcasm. We should give the movie more respect, even if we don’t want to see it. A lot of people have poured their blood, sweat and tears into this production. And since it’s a James Cameron film, you can bet it’s a lot of all three, especially the tears.

Anyway, Avatar 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on December 18, 2021 which means we are a little more than two years out. But we haven’t heard much about the movie, just that Cameron has been hard at work expanding the universe and the technology that we saw with the first Avatar.

This tweet from production shows us a glimpse of the set, promising that the movie is being made and that it’ll at least partially take place at sea, as evidenced by a sneak peek of the Sea Dragon, which is a “massive mothership that carries an array of other sea-going craft in the sequels.” To me it just looks like a piece of machinery surrounded by a lot of other anonymous-looking machinery but, hey, I don’t make these movies so what do I know?

You’ll note that the tweet says production is wrapped for this year, meaning they’ll be back at it again in a few months and long into 2020. I am sure there is much, much work to be done with Avatar 2 and Avatar 3…and 4…and 5. These people have their work cut out for them.

Hopefully as time goes by and production moves along we will see more behind-the-scenes tastes of what’s ahead. I think that will drum up excitement and remind audiences that all these movies are coming. You have to remember that the movie landscape has changed tremendously since the first Avatar smashed into theaters and broke so many records: the 3D fad has faded, well-known properties (including Cameron’s own Terminator series) have crashed and burned, superheroes have only become more popular and Star Wars has returned. I don’t doubt Cameron nor do I think these Avatar sequels will be bombs but they are going to need to fight hard to carve a spot for themselves in the current cinematic ecosystem and more glimpses of production will certainly help with that. Don’t leave us in the dark, Cameron. Let the fans (or, as you call them, the Na’vi Nation) in! You need them, now more than ever.