SEOUL– “Avatar: The Way of Water” is an adventure and love story that will make viewers think about the value of family and the relationship between humans and the oceans, its director James Cameron said Friday.
The Oscar-winning film director introduced the long-awaited sequel to his 2009 sci-fi blockbuster “Avatar” as “immersive narrative storytelling” surrounding an alien family with a heavy focus on underwater life.
“I think the film is an adventure first and foremost,” the director said during a press conference during his trip to Seoul along with four cast members and co-producer Jon Landau. “It’s a family story … This is a love letter to family and how family makes you stronger.”
After saving the planet of Pandora in the first film, “Avatar 2” features a new mixed-species family composed of former human Jake (Sam Worthington) and Na’vi Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).
Cameron said it was a “joyful” experience to reunite with Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, both of whom played characters who died at the end of the first film, in the sequel by channeling their “creative relationship” in the plot.
Cameron said he chose the ocean as the background for the second Avatar story because of his love for oceans.
“As a diver and as an explorer, I’ve spent thousands of hours underwater,” he said. “The oceans are very important to me.”
Unlike the first film that deals with human greed in mining and extraction projects, Cameron said the second story exposes human exploitation of the oceans in the hope of raising awareness of environmental issues.
“It just asks you to feel something for the oceans, and then maybe at least for a few people, that may translate into action,” he said.
In regard to the running time of over three hours, Cameron was confident that viewers would not complain about its length once they watch it on the big screen.
“It’s shorter than say, ‘Titanic,’ and that worked out okay,” the veteran filmmaker said of his 1997 film that last 3 hours and 15 minutes. “To me, more of a good thing is more.”
Cameron recommended viewers watch the film in theaters to best experience its 3D visuals and immersive sound.
“Our goal is to make it the best possible experience in a cinema that it can be,” he said.
“Avatar 2” will be world premiered in South Korea on Dec. 14.
Source: Yonhap News Agency