'Avatar 2' release date: volume of production work causes further delays to film

"Avatar 2"20th Century Fox

While "Avatar 2" has been lingering in the news, information that comes out about the movie is always about the delay on the highly anticipated sequel's release.

Fans won't be able to check back in on the beautiful kingdom of Pandora next year as the movie was reportedly moved to 2018. The worst part is that it will not be out until December of that year.

Initially, the delay of "Avatar 2" was reportedly necessitated to avoid its clash with "Star Wars: Episode 8," which is set to hit the big screen in December next year.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has been one of the biggest blockbuster hits of last year and the sequel is surely going for that level of performance once again.

Now, there are reports saying there's another reason that "Avatar 2" was pushed back to December 2018. Rumor has it that director James Cameron's team is taking longer to put together the film.

In the past, it was reported that Cameron decided to do all three upcoming "Avatar" movies before "Avatar 2" is released. The filmmaker confirmed this back in April to Slash Film.

"It's not back-to-back. It's really all one big production. It's more the way you would should a miniseries. So we'll be shooting across all [Avatar scripts] simultaneously," Cameron said.

"We're working across, essentially, eight hours of story. It's going to be a big challenge to keep it all fixed in our minds, exactly where we are, across that story arc at any given point," he went on to say, admitting that it is "the most challenging" thing he's ever done.

Apart from the pile of work this endeavor will entail, the ambitious production for each film is of unimaginable scale. "Avatar 2" is rumored to show Pandora's beauty underwater. There will be tons of graphics and visual effects involved.

While a 2018 release is frustrating, Cameron's vision for "Avatar 2" appears that it will be well worth the wait.