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New Avatar 2 photos reveal gigantic set

James Cameron has more to tease from the sequels out filming in New Zealand.

Jennifer Bisset Former Senior Editor / Culture
Jennifer Bisset was a senior editor for CNET. She covered film and TV news and reviews. The movie that inspired her to want a career in film is Lost in Translation. She won Best New Journalist in 2019 at the Australian IT Journalism Awards.
Expertise Film and TV Credentials
  • Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards
Jennifer Bisset
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The original Avatar from 2009.

Disney

More set photos are trickling out from James Cameron's Avatar 2, assuring us production is still underway in New Zealand after a pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Producer Jon Landau took to Instagram on Wednesday to drop a photo of "High Camp Bio Lab" on set stages in New Zealand, along with another photo of Cameron inside said lab, taking in the superbly detailed design.

"Jim studying the set before filming. A salute to the Kiwi crew for their attention to the artistry of their crafts," Landau posted.

While Avatar 2 is scheduled for 2022 and the other sequels up to 5 have all had their release dates pushed back, production on the sequel to the 2009 movie has been underway for sometime now, with Weta Digital (Lord of the Rings visual effects magicians) commencing visual effects work all the way back in 2017.

The live-action filming for both Avatar 2 and 3 began simultaneously in 2019 in New Zealand. Since then, we've seen an underwater shot, a "Crabsuit," new addition Kate Winslet doing motion capture performance work with others from the cast, as well as a bunch of beach-filled concept images.

Avatar 2 is scheduled for Dec. 16, 2022 -- for now.

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