Return to Pandora with these exclusive images from Avatar: The Way of Water

Avatar: The Way of Water
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios/Lightstorm)

These days, box-office success virtually guarantees a sequel. But, despite Avatar being the highest-grossing film of all time, with a global take of $2.924bn, a follow-up has taken a long time to manifest. Thirteen years, to be accurate. But, this December, there’s finally a new opportunity to travel back to Pandora in sequel Avatar: The Way of Water.

As time has passed in the real world, so it has elapsed in Pandora. Na’vi power couple Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) are now parents to a growing brood of kids, and this first of four planned sequels explores the lengths that Neytiri and Jake will go to in order to protect their family. 

The threat this time? The first film's big bad Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) returns in Na’vi form, with a score to settle. And, inspired by Cameron’s fascination with the ocean, this film will explore hitherto unseen watery regions of Pandora.

Avatar: The Way of Water is on the cover of the new issue of Total Film magazine - out in print and digital on Thursday – and you can see three exclusive shots from the film above and below, featuring the new-look Quaritch and his band of ‘Recombinant’ marines, as well as Sigourney Weaver’s new Na’vi character, Kiri.

Avatar: The Way of Water

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios/Lightstorm)

Avatar: The Way of Water

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios/Lightstorm)

Inside the new issue of Total Film, there are exclusive new interviews with Cameron, Saldaña, Worthington, Weaver and Lang, plus producer Jon Landau and the team behind the groundbreaking VFX.

Where the first film ushered in a 3D revolution, The Way of Water is upping the ante with a high frame rate (48 frames per second in comparison to the industry standard 24) that’s set to bring a new level of immersion to the film’s underwater sequences and action scenes.

Avatar: The Way of Water opens in cinemas on December 16. For much more on the film, check out the new issue of Total Film when it hits stands (and digital devices) this Thursday, November 10.

Total Film's Avatar: The Way of Water covers

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios/Total Film)

And if you’re a fan of Total Film, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue? You’ll have it delivered to your door before it’s in shops, you’ll save money on the cover price, and you’ll get exclusive subscriber-only covers. Plus, with the current offer you can get a free pair of EarFun headphones worth £55. Head to MagazinesDirect to find out more (Ts and Cs apply).

Total Film's latest subscriber offer.

(Image credit: Total Film/20th Century Studios/EarFun)
Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.

Read more
Avatar: The Way of Water
Avatar 3 release date, cast, story, and everything else you need to know
Zoe Saldaña in Avatar
James Cameron had "too many great ideas" for Avatar: The Way of Water, so the cut content became Avatar 3 which "will actually be a little bit longer" than its 3-hour predecessor
Zoe Saldana, as Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite looking at the camera during Avatar.
James Cameron has shown an early version of Avatar 3 to "a few people" and they say it's the best and most emotional entry in the series
Avatar
James Cameron says that Avatar 3 will make "brave choices" even if that means the audience going "f*** that's not what I signed up for"
Avatar
First look at new Avatar 3 location is "the exact opposite" of the vibrant Pandora we saw in James Cameron's first two movies
Avatar: The Way of Water
Fresh look at new Avatar 3 clan revealed as James Cameron teases that the series is trying to evolve beyond the "'all humans are bad, all Na’vi are good' paradigm"
Latest in Adventure Movies
Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
The Monopoly movie from Margot Robbie's production company will be written by the Dungeons and Dragons movie directors
The Goonies
Ke Huy Quan recalls Steven Spielberg playing a hilarious "big joke" on Harrison Ford when the Indiana Jones star visited The Goonies set
Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth actor teases a "link" with Sam Neill's Jurassic Park character – and fans think they've worked it out
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Epic Jurassic World Rebirth trailer sees Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey battle dinosaurs that were deemed "too dangerous for the original park"
Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth's writer says the new movie will include a novel scene they had to cut from the 1993 original
Jim Carrey as Robotnik in Sonic 3
Sonic 3 deleted scene reveals Jim Carrey's Robotnik has a side hustle where he live-streams under the handle 'Huevo Diablo'
Latest in News
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things 4
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins Spider-Man 4 and fans are already theorizing she might be X-Men’s Jean Grey
The Witcher 3
Resident Evil and Witcher 3 mocap director says video game industry layoffs have made it so "nothing is guaranteed," but AI won’t be replacing real actors "anytime soon"
Rift Apart
Retiring Insomniac boss says developers should still tackle new genres, but it's much riskier these days due to time and money
Atomfall screenshot
Atomfall dev doesn’t understand how massive development teams manage to keep organised: "How do you organize a game that has 2,000 people working on it?"
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Stardew Valley player bringing a bit of Baldur's Gate 3 to ConcernedApe's farming sim, now with Larian's seal of approval, says they've played over 1,500 hours and will improve the mod
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Monster Hunter Wilds' final boss is even cooler than we thought: series experts point out attacks stitched together from iconic monsters throughout the series