After several months’ hiatus, filming will restart on Avatar 2 after the planet Pandora was declared Covid-free.
Although there had been no confirmed cases of coronavirus on Pandora, James Cameron took the decision to halt filming as a precaution. However, scientists have confirmed that the disease is only present on Earth, so cast and crew will be safe to return to Pandora.
“It’s a relief. A big relief,” said director James Cameron.
“I mean, we’ve been working on this sequel for forty-two years and we’re aiming to have it ready by sometime around 2060, so the last thing we need is further delays.
“So, it’ll be good to get back to Pandora, and back to work.”
Famously disappointed with the limitations placed on him by working in a computer-generated space for the original, Cameron took the unusual and ambitious plan to film the sequels to Avatar on a different planet.
After an unusual and highly expensive scouting process, he settled on a planet in Bode’s Galaxy that matched his vision. A year’s negotiation with the indigenous people followed, with them agreeing to accommodate his filming provided a Na’vi received second billing for any and all sequels and a third of profits went to Pandora.
Initially, there was to be no pause in Avatar 2 filming due to the coronavirus, but ultimately, precaution and concern for crew and cast’s families meant that it shut down in March. It is due to restart on June 1st.
Although unusual, filming off-world is, of course, not the first time that Cameron has gone to such extremes to achieve fidelity in his films.
With Titanic, he built a life-size replica of the Titanic, sank it, and let it rust for eighty years so it was indistinguishable from the original ship before filming. With The Terminator, he built a robotic replica of Arnold Schwarzenegger that could travel through time.
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