Kate Winslet has come on board James Cameron’s Avatar sequels, reuniting with the director two decades after they collaborated on Titanic.“Kate and I have been looking for something to do together for 20 years, since our collaboration on Titanic, which was one of the most rewarding of my career,” Cameron said.
“I can’t wait to see her bring the character of Ronal to life.”
The four sequels will hit theatres starting on Dec 18, 2020 for Avatar 2. Avatar 3 will open on Dec 17, 2021, followed by a three-year break for Avatar 4, set for Dec 20, 2024. Avatar 5 will then debut on Dec 19, 2025.
Cameron began filming the first of the four Fox movies last week in California. The creator of the original Avatar – the 2009 fantasy epic that remains the all-time worldwide box office champion with US$2.8bil – first announced plans for four pics in 2016. He had initially envisioned two sequels, but after meeting with the screenwriters, artists, and designers, he realised that he had too much material for just two films, decided on three sequels, then jumped to four.
Cameron and Jon Landau are producing through their Lightstorm Entertainment company. The returning stars include Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, CCH Pounder, and Stephen Lang, with Taboo star Oona Chaplin recently joining the cast in an unspecified role. The script was written by Cameron with Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, and Shane Salerno.
Winslet stars with Idris Elba in Fox’s upcoming The Mountain Between Us, which opens on Oct 26, and in Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel For Amazon. Recent credits include Collateral Beauty, The Dressmaker, and Steve Jobs, for which she received her seventh Academy Award nomination.
Winslet won an Oscar for The Reader and received nominations for Titanic, Sense And Sensibility, Iris, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, and Little Children. The news about Avatar was first reported by Deadline Hollywood. – Reuters/Dave McNary
Kate Winslet (left) and Idris Elba in a scene from The Mountain Between Us. Photo: 20th Century Fox
