James Cameron's AVATAR 2 Delayed Again, Won't Face Off Against STAR WARS: EPISODE 8

When Disney shifted Star Wars: Episode VIII into a December 2017 release date, it set up what was sure to be an epic face-off at the box office: Star Wars vs. James Cameron's Avatar 2. But now The Wrap is reporting that Avatar 2 has been delayed again, but its new date is unspecified.

20th Century Fox originally wanted this sequel to come out in December of 2014, which would have been five years after the original movie hit theaters. It was then delayed to December of 2015, then December 2016, then December 2017, and now this. I should have known the would-be box office battle was too good to be true, simply because the studios wouldn't want to share the limited number of IMAX screens that are available.

It remains to be seen what's going to happen with these Avatar sequels, but Cameron is going to shoot three new movies back-to-back-to-back and intends for all of them to come out one year apart. With Disney seemingly claiming the month of December as Star Wars territory for the foreseeable future, Avatar may have to move to the summer if it wants to goose its numbers with IMAX screens. I actually think it would be a cool opportunity for Cameron and his team to try to open Avatar 2 in February or March, a season most big-budget blockbusters avoid.

I'm starting to get the sense that maybe I've underestimated the potential of future Avatar movies. For the past few years, I've harbored some serious doubts that people would want to return to Pandora so many years after the original, but the massive success of Jurassic World has proven the power of nostalgia is very strong (and international audiences LOVED Avatar, which is why The Force Awakens likely won't ever top its number one spot on the list of highest grossing movies of all time). What do you think?