Much to the displeasure of many fans, the Disney group postponed the three planned “Avatar” sequels yesterday. In some cases, fans have to wait up to three years longer for their eagerly awaited return to Pandora. Hollywood star Zoe Saldana (44), who has played Na’vi main character Neytiri since “Avatar – Aufbruch nach Pandora” from 2009, has now reacted to this huge shift with humorous dismay.
“Great! I will be 53 when the last ‘Avatar’ movie comes out,” Saldana wrote in a story on Instagram on Wednesday (June 14), adding a shocked emoji. The three previously announced “Avatar” sequels by director and Oscar winner James Cameron (68) were originally supposed to start in cinemas every two years. The still untitled “Avatar 3” was scheduled for December 2024 until the day before yesterday.
But while this Disney film has now been “only” postponed by one year – to December 2025 – “Avatar 4” is not scheduled to be released in cinemas until 2026 instead of 2026. “Avatar 5” has been pushed back from a planned release date of 2028 to December 2031, and will mark the conclusion of the hit film series.
Lead actress Saldana will be 53 when the final film comes out, while director Cameron will be 77 years old. “I was 27 years old when we shot the first ‘Avatar’,” Saldana said in her story on Instagram. The actress would have been busy with her character Neytiri for a total of 26 years at the time of the release of “Avatar 5” – a record-breaking length of time.