The long wait of 13 years is finally coming to an end as Avatar 2: The Way of Water arrives in cinemas on December 16. The sequel to the 2009 blockbuster and the highest-grossing film of all time, The Way of Water, will follow the story of Jake Sully and Neytiri as they fight a new threat that rises in Pandora.
Much like its predecessor, Avatar 2 will also be a visual spectacle and showcase some never-seen-before special effects. A huge chunk of the film takes place underwater, which calls for even more VFX and CGIs. Many fans are now wondering where were the underwater world and the Pandora moon created to shoot the film. Well, read on to find out.
Avatar 2: The Way of Water Filming Locations
The film has been extensively shot in California, Wellington, and North Island in New Zealand. The cameras started rolling for both Avatar 2 and 3 simultaneously way back in 2017, and the filming continued till November 2019. The shooting was stopped in March 2020 due to the advent of the covid pandemic.
However, the team resumed production in June 2020, and the filming was concluded in September of the same year. The post-production work for the film took two years, since the project was shot with a new motion capture system. Here are the details of all the places where filming of Avatar 2 took place:
Manhattan Beach, California
The major portion of the film was shot in Manhattan Beach, a city in Los Angeles County, California. The underwater sequences were predominantly shot here. The MBS Media Campus at 1600 Rosecrans Avenue was utilized as the production base by the team.
The media campus provides a number of facilities for filming, including production offices, 15 sound stages, and media centers. Manhattan beach is known for its long beach that is 2.1 miles in length. The place is famous for boutiques, brunch cafes, pubs, and upscale eateries and is regularly visited by surfers and volleyball enthusiasts.
Wellington, New Zealand
A few key scenes were also shot in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. The production team used Stone Street Studios at 1 Stone Street in the Miramar suburb to shoot the sequences.
The studio features four sound stages, a warehouse, multiple production offices, a prop centre, and a huge backlot area, which makes it ideal for shooting films and TV shows. The visual effects were also worked out in Wellington, as the production team used the Weta FX situated at 127 Wexford Road in Miramar.
Weta is a visual effects company that has been associated with some of the biggest films in the recent past, including The Batman, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
North Island, New Zealand
Some portions of the film were also shot in Kumeū, a town on North Island, New Zealand. The town is situated in the Auckland region, one of the 16 metropolitan regions of the country.
From the set of the sequels: @JimCameron directing the actors before they dive underwater for performance capture.
Fun fact: That layer of white on the water's surface is comprised of floating balls that prevent lights from interfering with filming underwater. pic.twitter.com/dOBwS6qOXF
— Avatar (@officialavatar) May 6, 2020
The cast and the production team were spotted filming at the Kumeu Film Studios in 2019 and 2020. The huge studio comprises a massive stage, multiple workshops, production offices, and also two water tanks that could be used for filming underwater sequences.
How excited are you to watch Avatar: The Way of Water? Tell us in the comments section.
More than the movie, I am so excited to it’s science and technology in it’s production.