'Avatar 2' release date news, plot details: First photo teases Pandora's future generation

A promotional photo for James Cameron's "Avatar."Facebook/Avatar

The follow-up to 2009's "Avatar" just kicked off its production in California. With that, 20th Century Fox has released the first official photo from the eagerly awaited sequel, showing the future generation of Pandora.

The first official photo, obtained by Entertainment Weekly, introduced the children of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) namely Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuktirey / Tuk (Trinity Bliss).

There are also fresh new faces to watch out for in the Metkayina Clan – a graceful and strong free-diver, Tsireya / Reya (Bailey Bass); a young male hunter, Aonung (Filip Geljo) and another hunter and free-diver, Rotxo (Duane Evans Jr.).

As if that were not promising enough, a human born in Hell's Gate, Javier "Spider" Socorro (Jack Champion), will also be introduced. Not much has been said about the character, other than he enjoys spending time in the Pandoran rainforest.

"We never had this youthful element before, and that brings a different kind of energy to the film," producer Jon Landau ('Titanic' and 'Solaris') told the publication. "They represent the future generation of Pandora and play a very significant role — not just in this movie but throughout all the movies."

Further plot details remain under wraps, but fans do know "Avatar 2" will take place seven to eight years after the events of the original film. It will also explore the oceans of Pandora and will further look into Na'vi's society and culture of the Avatar (also called as Uniltirantokx or Dreamwalker).

"Avatar 2" also sees the return of Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, C. C. H. Pounder, Matt Gerald, and Joel David Moore. It will be directed by James Cameron based on a script he and Josh Friedman ("Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles") have written.

"Avatar 2" is set to open in theaters across the U.S. on Dec. 18, 2020.