Shooting of Avatar 2 complete, Avatar 3 95 per cent done: James Cameron

Veteran filmmaker James Cameron revealed that the shooting of his much-anticipated Avatar 2 is over and the team is also almost done with the filming of the third instalment in the franchise. 

According to Entertainment Tonight, Cameron shared the update on the follow-ups to his 2009 blockbuster during a Zoom interview with Arnold Schwarzenegger ahead of the 2020 Austrian World Summit.

The Avatar sequels were in the middle of production in New Zealand earlier this year when filming was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. New Zealand was declared coronavirus-free in June, after which the team got permission to restart production with safety measures in place. 

"COVID hit us hard. We lost about four-and-a-half months of production. As a result of that, we've rolled around one more full year for a release in December of 2022. That's been announced already," said Cameron.

"I'm down in New Zealand. We're shooting the remainder of the live-action, we've got about 10 per cent left to go. We're 100 per cent complete on Avatar 2, and we're sort of 95 per cent complete on Avatar 3," the director added. 

Avatar 2 was originally scheduled for release on December 17, 2021, but will now be out in December 2022. 

The film marks the return of original stars Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana. Actors Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis are the new additions.