Imagine spending several years on just a single scene. That’s the journey the VFX crew for Avatar: The Way of Water embarked on when tackling this sequel. I was lucky enough to be invited to Walt Disney Studios for an interview with producer Jon Landau and several visual effects artists that brought this world and these characters to life once again: Joe Letteri (Senior VFX Supervisor), Richie Baneham (Lightstorm VFX Supervisor/Virtual Second Unit Director/Executive Producer), Pavini Boddapati (VFX Supervisor – Metkayina Village and Reefs), Jonathan Nixon (FX Supervisor – water and fire), Wayne Stables (VFX Supervisor – jungle scenes), and Dan Barrett (Senior Animation Supervisor).
The amount of passion and love for this franchise was more than apparent after hearing them speak about their time on this project. They all spoke very highly of director James Cameron and what it was like working with him. A genuinely creative genius with a passion for what he does. He doesn’t just have an eye for visual effects, he loves it and has fun with making it look as good as it can possibly be. I presented a question to producer Jon Landau and the VFX crew about the amount of time it took to finally get the sequel to the massively successful blockbuster from 2009.
What would you say to fans that are used to getting sequels so close together? Would you say patience is how you were able to perfect this franchise so far?
Landau: I think what we’re able to present up on the screen today, we couldn’t have done five years ago, we couldn’t have done eight years ago, and we couldn’t have done it three years ago. It took this time to create what I believe is currently the ultimate cinematic experience. Why did it take the time? First of all, Jim [Cameron] took two years to go dive the Mariana Trench after the last [movie]. Then, he came back and spent a year and wrote 1500 pages of story notes. Then, we said okay we’re going to be going out and doing, we thought at that time, three sequels and work with a writing team to break those down into scripts that Jim would want to direct. We decided it needed to be four and then we said now let’s design four. Let’s now go shoot two and a third movie. We shot all of two, all of three, and the first act of four. That’s what took the time, but all that time this team was working. We started talking about this movie in 2013, I think. Defining that water is the problem and saying okay we have to raise the bar on what we’re doing.
Pavini: I’ve been working on this project since 2018 and I was inspired just looking at the turnover images and the early art. I knew it was going to be the most beautiful movie in 2022.
After 13 years, this franchise is still only just beginning. It’s lifting off the ground with over a decade’s worth of work and the most successful box office numbers of all time. The crew remained incredibly humble throughout only talking about releasing the sequels should The Way of Water perform how they expect it to. James Cameron and his highly talented crew of artists and geniuses have an entire saga planned. With this story just rising above the horizon, their work will only grow more impressive and the world becomes more expansive.
Avatar: The Way of Water releases in theaters on December 16!
