James Cameron & Jon Landau Land In New Zealand Ahead Of ‘Avatar’ Production Restart

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Production resuming on the Avatar sequels moved a step closer after director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau touched down in New Zealand on Sunday.

Landau revealed the news in an Instagram post of the pair sporting coronavirus protective masks and visors. He noted that they will now need to observe a 14-day isolation period mandated by the local government upon re-entering the country.

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Deadline was first to reveal that the NZ gov had endorsed COVID-19 safety procedures for film and TV production in the country, paving the way for major shoots including Avatar and Amazon’s The Lord Of The Rings series to get cameras rolling again.

Cameron and Landau had been filming live action elements of the Avatar sequels before the pandemic hit and forced the near-global production shutdown. During lockdown, they have continued to oversee the film’s virtual production in California, working with NZ’s Weta Digital.

20th Century Studios’ Avatar 2 is dated for release by Disney on December 17, 2021, no word yet on if the hiatus will force that date to move.

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