The Avatar: The Way of Water trailer makes us think of Titanic

Set more than 10 years after the events of 2009’s Avatar, James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel, The Way of the Water: Avatar finds a fully Navi-ified Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their since-born kids sticking it out on Pandora. Little is known about the plot of the film, other than that it will follow “the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure.” Plus lots of water!

A new trailer for the December release has been released. It was shown on Good Morning America’s Wednesday morning show. Visually, it’s giving us the fully sparkly and extremely blue David-Attenborough-on-mushrooms vibes that we expect, plenty of space-whale action, some fiery humans-are-bad tableaux, and a surprising Titanic Callback while characters maneuver some type of sinking structure.

Besides reintroducing viewers to Jake and Neytiri, the trailer has a particular focus on Kiri, their adoptive daughter teenage daughter, brought to life by 72-year-old Sigourney Weaver through the power of performance capture — a startling casting choice that only Cameron would attempt, and that seems from this trailer to have come off, against the odds. Weaver was a scientist, and returns to the role in the sequel. Movie magic rules.

We also hear from Cliff Curtis’ Tonowari, the not particularly welcoming leader of a different Na’vi clan, and it looks like there’s a classic Romeo-and-Juliet romance brewing between Jake and Neytiri’s son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tonowari’s daughter Tsireya (Bailey Bass).

The Way of the Water: AvatarAlso, Stephen Lang and Joel David Moore return, CCH Pounder is back, as well as Giovanni Ribisi and CCH Pounder. Kate Winslet returns (another). TitanicCliff Curtis (callback), Jemaine Cllement, Edie Falco and Cliff Curtis complete the ensemble. December 16th will see the movie released in cinemas.