Over twenty years after working together on the Academy Award-winningTitanic, director James Cameron and actress Kate Winslet will reunite on the filmmaker’sAvatarsequels. Winslet’s role in the long-developing sequels required her to film underwater sequences and in the process, she managed to beat the record Tom Cruise set while filmingMission: Impossible- Rogue Nation.
Paramount’sMission: Impossible - Rogue Nationfeatureda harrowing sequencein which Cruise’s Ethan Hunt dives into an underwater safe, aiming to retrieve the computer file containing the identities of Syndicate agents. In order to film the scene, which was shot in a single take, Cruise trained with a diving specialist so he would able to hold his breath for a reported six minutes.
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Moviegoers were recently given a glimpse at Winslet’s own experience filming underwater in a behind-the-scenes photo shared byAvatar 2producer Jon Landau. Included with the photo was a quote from Winslet toThe Hollywood Reporterabout how she managed to hold her breath underwater for seven minutes and 14 seconds, surpassing Cruise’s record onRogue Nation. In a separate interview, Winslet described the sequence as a dance being performed aspart of a Na’vi ceremony. As indicated by the photo, Winslet’s role as Ronal, a free-diver of the Metkayina clan, will require the use of performance capture technology.
The release ofAvatar 2was postponed by Disney due to the production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, moving from December 2021 to December of the following year. With filming on the sequel able to resume somewhat faster than most other Hollywood projects, the cast and crew still had to go intoquarantine for 14 days after arriving in New Zealand. The production was also required to adhere to government-approved health and safety production protocols.
A similar fate fell upon the cast and crew ofMission: Impossible 7, which was able to resume production closer towards the end of summer. Fortunately for Tom Cruise, who continues to find creative ways to put himself inperilous situations for the purpose of entertaining audiences.
Speaking of records, James Cameron is likely hopingAvatar 2can top the box office performance of Marvel Studios’Avengers: Endgame. The blockbuster conclusion to Marvel Studio’s decade-long Infinity Saga dethroned Cameron’s firstAvatarfilm to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.
Avatar 2is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 20, 2025.
