Zoe Saldaña is featured front and center in the new trailer for “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
The trailer teases out some of the main stories that will be featured in the awaited film, including Saldaña’s character’s pregnancy and family life.
Per Variety, the film is set a decade after the original, which was set in the year 2154. The trailer features various moments and new scenes, including the return of Colonel Quaritch (Steven Lang), the original film’s villain, this time in Na’vi form. It also shows Neytiri (Saldaña) and Jake’s (Sam Worthington) evolving relationship and family. They now have four kids, called Neteyam, Lo’ak, Tuktirey and Kiri.
Sigourney Weaver, a frequent collaborator of director James Cameron shared that the film’s story is very personal to him. “It’s very much based on family and his joy in the family; and also, how vulnerable you are when you have children.” Weaver starred in the original film and although her character died, she’s back in a new role for the sequel.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” has been a decade in the making, with Cameron waiting on technology to develop in order to realize his vision. The trailer shows numerous impressive shots, including those underwater, which were shot in large water tanks. Actors had to train in freediving in order to be able to hold their breaths for extended periods of time.
When speaking about these underwater scenes, Saldaña shared that she was proud of how long she was able to hold her breath, even if she wasn’t the most skilled at it. That was Kate Winslet, who turned out to be a natural freediver. “I’m very competitive, but we had an Oscar-winning actress in our cast that did seven minutes,” said Saldaña to The New York Times. “I got almost up to five minutes. That’s a big accomplishment, you guys.”
“Avatar: The Way of Water” will be released in theaters this December 16.
