Behind-the-Scenes ‘Avatar’ Sequels Set Photo Reveals The Sea Dragon Mothership

The Avatar sequels are coming…in two years. A decade since James Cameron’s record-breaking sci-fi film and years of delays on the subsequent films have brought us to his: the completion of live-action production for the year. Whoo whoo? Yeah, there’s still a crap ton of work that needs to be done before we see just the first piece of footage, a photo, anything that will ever wind up on the big screen. But at least we have a new set photo, I guess.

As the caption from Avatar‘s official Twitter reads: “Check out this photo of the aft well deck section of the Sea Dragon, a massive mothership that carries an array of other sea-going craft in the sequels.”

So this is far from an ordinary set on some backlot in the middle of nowhere. There are two vehicles I can see, one in the back and one submersible-looking one in the front, which are both inside of a much larger ship. I see some members of the crew in breathing masks, so either they’re on Pandora where humans can’t breathe the air, or they’re going underwater. It may be the latter since we know the majority of the first sequel will take place in an aquatic environment, perfect for that deep sea-diving fool James Cameron.

This looks like it cost an astronomical amount, which it probably did. Cameron has never been one to tighten the purse strings, and certainly isn’t on his pet franchise. Four sequels are planned but will largely depend on the success of the first two. I have doubts they’ll come close to reaching the $2.7B heights of the original. Too much time has passed and history hasn’t looked back at Avatar as fondly as I think Cameron does. Then again, after all this time he could be building up a tremendous amount of anticipation.

Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, and Matt Gerald with new additions Kate Winslet, Edie Falco, Michelle Yeoh, Vin Diesel, Jemaine Clement, and Oona Chaplin, Avatar 2 arrives on December 17th 2021, followed by Avatar 3 on December 22nd 2023. Sequels arriving in 2025 and 2027 may follow.