Covid 19 Coronavirus: James Cameron Updates Avatar and Praises New Zealand’s Pandemic Response

James Cameron has given fans an update on the Avatar sequels during a conversation with none other than the Terminator.

Speaking from New Zealand, Cameron joined Arnold Schwarzenegger for the 2020 Austrian World Summit. While the actor-director spoke primarily about veganism and environmental issues, Schwarzenegger snuck in on a question about the Avatar aftermath.

The couple also spoke about New Zealand’s Covid-19 response and how the pandemic had affected the production of the Avatar sequels, with Cameron revealing that the second Avatar movie is complete.

“I know you’re in the middle of filming Avatar, I know you had to get up now to do this interview because of the time change in New Zealand and all that, tell me, is there anything we need to know? When is the movie coming out in cinemas, what’s going on there? “Schwarzenegger asked.

“Covid hit us like all of us, it hit us hard,” said Cameron. He says the pandemic meant that the films lost four to five months of production.

“Where are we now: I’m in New Zealand filming. We’re shooting the rest of the action live, we’ve got about 10% left. We’re 100% complete on Avatar 2 and we’re 95 percent complete on Avatar 3.”

Cameron also praised New Zealand’s Covid-19 response: “We are very lucky to have chosen this as our production site years ago, we made the first film here in New Zealand. It turns out to be the first or second best country in the world for your Covid response “.

“We can shoot, we can operate and we can have a more or less normal life here. We were very lucky, so I don’t see any obstacles to finishing the movie.”

The sequels to Avatar have been met with repeated delays. The highly anticipated sequel to the 2009 epic is scheduled for release in December 2022.

In July, Cameron posted a message on the official Avatar account announcing that the pandemic had delayed the launch, originally scheduled for December 2021.

Cameron and his team for the sci-fi blockbuster received special waivers at the border to resume filming in Wellington in June.