Avatar: The Way of Water Debuts Teaser Trailer — See First Glimpse of Action-Packed Sequel

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On Monday, the first teaser for James Cameron's long-awaited Avatar sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, debuted to the masses after premiering at CinemaCon last month and playing in front of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in theaters this weekend.

The minute-and-a-half glimpse showcases the action-packed spectacle, including the iconic floating mountains and a new frontier for the movie franchise: the underwater world.

"I know one thing: Wherever we go, this family is our fortress," Sam Worthington's Jake Sully tells Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri at the end of the teaser.

The first Avatar hit theaters in December 2009, revolutionizing 3D moviegoing with its cutting-edge advancements in technology. Along with Worthington and Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore and CCH Pounder also return for this new installment. Cameron's Titanic cohort Kate Winslet joins the cast along with Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco and Jemaine Clement.

RELATED: James Cameron Jokes About Pressure of Making Avatar Sequels: 'I Just Sit Here at My Desk and Cry'

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

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An official logline for the movie explains that this film takes place more than 10 years later and "begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure."

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Now owned by Disney following the company's acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, the long-delayed Avatar sequel is currently slated for a Dec. 16, 2022, release date. A third film is expected to debut in 2024, a fourth in 2026 and a fifth in 2028. The studio will also re-release the original Avatar in theaters on Sept. 23.

Producer Jon Landau told Entertainment Weekly in December that "ultimately, the sequels are a story about family, and the lengths parents will go through to keep that family together and keep them safe. I always say that Jim's movies have universal themes — and really, there's no more universal theme than family."

"What we are doing now, from a story standpoint and a world standpoint, is on a much larger scale. That's both exciting and challenging," added Landau at the time. "We are putting much more detail, first and foremost, into the performances of the cast, but we're putting much more detail and diversity into the world that we are creating."

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

The 2009 original broke box office records upon its release and also earned nine Oscar nominations — including for Best Picture — with three total wins. Cameron told EW he worries whether the subsequent installments can match Avatar's success.

"The big issue is: Are we going to make any damn money? Big, expensive films have got to make a lot of money," said Cameron. "We're in a new world post-COVID, post-streaming. Maybe those [box office] numbers will never be seen again. Who knows? It's all a big roll of the dice."