Avatar 4 won’t hit theaters until December 18, 2026, but apparently, the film’s first act is already in the can.
During the Busan International Film Festival (via Variety), Avatar series producer Jon Landau explained where production is at for the distant sequel.
“We’ve completed most of the first act of Avatar 4 and there were logistical reasons why we needed to do that,” Landau said. “We’ve designed most of the whole movie for Avatar 4 but we haven’t actually filmed all of it – just the first act.”
The producer also teased minor details about the upcoming Avatar sequels, saying that each movie will introduce a new culture while also revisiting the cultures from the previous movies.
We’ve known for a while that Avatar 2, 3, and 4 were all being developed simultaneously, and Avatar 3 was close to finishing shooting when Avatar 2 wrapped up.
With 2026 still a long way away, we don’t know much about the details of Avatar 4, apart from the fact that it will cost a ton of money to produce. This past summer, we learned that James Cameron might not direct Avatar 4 and 5, because the filmmaker has some other projects he’d like to focus on.
The crowd in attendance at the film festival also got to see 15 minutes of footage for the upcoming Avatar: The Way of Water, which is coming to theaters on December 14. The movie will follow Jake Sully and his newfound family on Pandora.
If you’re doubting the return of Avatar fever, the first teaser for the movie arrived this year, and it had an absolutely enormous first 24 hours online.
To help pass the long wait for more information on Avatar 4, check out our history and future of the Avatar sequels. Or, check out our interview with James Cameron about the remaster of the original Avatar.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.