Avatar's second and third sequels are done filming but, more importantly, they ditched the shitty Papyrus logo

By Randall Colburn | October 30, 2018 | 3:05pm

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We can’t believe we’re actually typing this, but James Cameron’s long, long, long–delayed Avatar sequels aren’t just still happening, they’ve apparently finished filming. Well, two of them at least. As we previously reported, the Titanic director is making four sequels to his tepid 2009 blockbuster, which, lest we forget, is literally the highest-grossing movie of all time.

“We just finished shooting two and three,” Sigourney Weaver confirmed in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, with whom she also shared some other interesting tidbits. For one, she’ll be playing an entirely new character in the sequels, one with no connection to her previous role of Dr. Grace Augustine. The sequels will also dive into the crystalline depths of Na’vi seas, as she says the cast and crew learned to “free dive” and that “we did many scenes underwater.”

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Weaver also dropped the bombshell that Avatar’s fourth and fifth sequels are already filming, despite the second in the franchise not slated to drop until 2020. In responding to a question as to whether Neill Blomkamp’s long-gestating Alien 5 will happen, she said, “We almost started to do it when I was working with James Cameron. But by the time we were put off by Fox, Neill had gotten so many jobs that we’d have to wait probably. I’m busy doing Avatar 4 and 5. I love working with Neill and I think he’d do a terrific job, and James Cameron really thinks it’s a great idea, so you never know. Right now, I think Neill’s got like three projects going at once.”

As /Film points out, this comes as a bit of a surprise, as Cameron himself told Vanity Fair that the fourth and fifth sequels were dependent on the success of the second and third. “Let’s face it, if Avatar 2 and 3 don’t make enough money, there’s not going to be a 4 and 5,” he said. His decision to go full steam ahead may sound hubristic, but let us not forget that Fox is showering the franchise with more than a billion dollars.

Even if the latter sequels don’t pan out, however, Weaver says the story will suffice. “It’s kind of one story. They’re all independent. It works without four and five, but it really is a big saga,” she said.

If you’re wary of all this chatter after years of stops and starts—Neil Cicierega, we’re looking at you—here’s one concrete update upon which to rest your faith: Cameron’s Lightstorm production company and Fox have unveiled a new logo. Better yet? It’s abandoned the lazy-ass Papyrus font of the first film, which was famously spoofed by Ryan Gosling in a hilarious Saturday Night Live sketch last year.

Check it out below and weep because, after all this hoopla, it still kinda sucks.