Warning: spoilers for Avatar: Fire and Ash ahead.

I almost don't need to write out that spoiler warning – if you've seen Avatar: The Way of Water, you've seen Avatar: Fire and Ash.

The first wave of reviews (including mine) agreed that the biggest problem with the third movie in the Avatar franchise is that it's incredibly repetitive. In fact, I'm still sure there's at least one scene that's been cut and pasted from the second film.

You'd think that this would make the job of explaining the ending of Avatar: Fire and Ash a breeze, and in some ways, that's true. However, Pandora lore is complex and plentiful, and that's only more apparent now the fire clan have joined the party.

So I've answered all of your burning questions in one handy place, and tried to guess what James Cameron is cooking up for his two planned sequels (that we've still got to wait at least another four years to see).

What does Varang want from the other Na'avi clans?

As I've touched on, the Fire Na'avi are the latest addition to Fire and Ash, led by the ferocious Varang (Oona Chaplin). We first meet them when they attack the airships Jake (Sam Worthington) and family are travelling on, having decided to send Spider (Jake Champion) back to the forest.

After holding Jake and co captive before they break free, Varang joins forces with Quaritch (Stephen Lang) to try and capture Jake for good. Why is Varang open to it? She wants every other Na'avi on Pandora destroyed after her people and way of life were obliterated as a child. After that, she learned to use fire to her advantage, and the rest is history.

Quaritch supplies the Fire clan with guns and teaches them how to use them, so when the time comes for the Na'avi to fight the Sky People, they side with him. Varang also begins a romantic relationship with Quaritch.

A lot of Fire Na'avi die in the crossfire, but Quartich and Varang capture Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Tuk (Trinity Bliss) on the main ship. While we don't see exactly what happens to Varang, we assume she's either escaped or gone down with the Sky People as they're pulled into the ocean's vortex (more on this below).

Jake and Quaritch both get injured, but have one last hand-to-hand battle in a bid to try and take care of Spider. Neytiri and the children arrive as backup, and knowing he's outnumbered, Quaritch jumps into the vortex and to his death.

Is Pandora safe from the Sky People?

For now, yes. As I've touched on, one of the main storylines is Jake being successfully captured by the human military that is left on Pandora. Quaritch is full Na'avi now, but is still leading the charge... at least until General Ardmore (Edie Falco) decides to relieve him of his duties once he gets too close to Varang.

Much like in The Way of Water, this results in an all-out sea battle between the Sky People, Fire Na'avi and the remaining Na'avi clans. Ardmore and her flank take to the sea in a fleet of ships, with Quaritch, Varang and the rest of the Fire Na'avi going rogue.

Meanwhile, Jake has enlisted all the other Na'avi clans to take up the fight to protect Pandora, with Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) able to convince the whale clan to join them after exiling Payakan (which is as sad as you'd think).

It's the bloodbath to end all bloodbaths, with countless casualties in the process, including every human still left on Pandora, and Ronal (Kate Winslet), who is able to give birth just before succumbing to her injuries.

Not only is there still a way that Winslet can come back thanks to the spiritual plane, there's now no direct threat to any Na'avi left on Pandora... which makes it difficult to predict where Avatar 4 will take things next.

Is Jake captured?

Yes and no. Not long after the Quaritch and Varang team up, Jake surrenders himself to stop the Fire Na'avi from destroying the home of the Metkayina clan, with whom the Sully family now live. He's taken back to the military base where the humans celebrate victory, holding Jake in a huge glass box outside.

Obviously, this doesn't last too long. There are three escape plans being devised separately that each unintentionally work together to free Jake. A disgruntled marine biologist defies General Ardmore's orders and steals an artillery machine to break Jake out of the glass box, fed up with the human plan to extinguish the Na'avi from their home planet.

Meanwhile, Spider has also been captured and taken in for testing after Kiri's (Sigourney Weaver) growing powers not only brought him back to life, but enabled him to breathe on Pandora without a mask. He knows he can't be killed while the military figure out how his new biology can be replicated for mass use, so becomes a human shield for Jake to safely get across the base.

Neytiri has simultaneously dressed up as a Fire Na'avi to safely invade the base, and steal a military security tag in the process. She not only fights off Varang and Quaritch, but also rescues Jake and Spider from the base.

What about Kiri and Spider?

We're only just starting to understand Kiri's powers, and for most of Fire and Ash, Great Mother Eywa has shut Kiri off from accessing her entirely. This not only frustrates her, but leads to a huge family secret being revealed – Kiri doesn't have a biological father. Hers was basically a Mary and Jesus type of immaculate conception, and we haven't got to the bottom of why... yet.

This means that her powers to bring Spider back to life are highly sought after. Replicating how Spider is staying alive could mean humans take Pandora for themselves, finally learning the secrets of how to breathe Pandora's (highly toxic) air.

Thankfully, they're all wiped out before any of that can happen, so the attention is back on Kiri. In the final shot of the movie, she takes Spider to visit the ancestral plane (he can now connect on his own) where the spirits accept him as a true Na'avi.

Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 predictions

Avatar 4 won't come out until 2029, and it's anybody's guess for what it will cover. With humans erased from Pandora and the Na'avi happy and safe, there's literally no reason to have two more sequels. Every storyline has been neatly wrapped up, so we should expect a huge U-turn from what we've seen before.

While Kiri's powers will likely still be explored in greater detail, the strongest Avatar 4 theory is that Jake will need to return to Earth some an unknown reason some years after the events of Fire and Ash. The franchise's ultimate battle is between humans and the Na'avi, so this is the most logical way to continue that thread.

A quarter of Avatar 4 has allegedly been filmed, but Cameron reportedly still has reservations.

"If this is where it ends, cool," Cameron told The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast. "There's one open thread, I'll write a book. I don't think there'd ever be a version where there's another Avatar movie that I didn't produce closely. But in terms of it taking over my life, that's a threshold issue for me."

Personally speaking, I think the trilogy was enough and production should quit while it's ahead. But given how much money it's bound to make, more sequels feel likely.

For now, you can watch Avatar 1 and 2 on Disney+ globally, with Fire and Ash likely joining at some point in 2026.

• James Cameron has responded to criticism over his use of 3D and high frame rate in his upcoming movie Avatar: Fire and Ash, and its 2022 prequel
• He shared his thoughts in an interview with Discussing Film, bluntly saying, "I happen to like it, and it's my movie"
• On top of this backlash, Cameron has been hit with a second copyright infringement lawsuit by fellow animator Eric Ryder

The third installment to James Cameron’s Avatar film series, Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025), is set to release this week, but the director has already received a fair share of criticism for his use of 3D, and a copyright infringement lawsuit has emerged at the same time.

As well as pointing out the use of 3D, critics have voiced harsh criticism of the movie’s high frame rate, which some have called 'too uncanny'. Both Avatar: Fire and Ash and its prequel Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) use a staggering 48 frames per second, which is twice the standard movie frame rate of 24.

The billion-dollar-grossing director hasn’t remained silent, however, giving a blunt and upfront response to the wave of backlash in an interview with Discussing Film, saying, "I think $2.3 billion says you might be wrong on that."

Cameron then added, "Well, that's the argument from authority. But the argument from artistic is, I happen to like it, and it's my movie.”

But this isn’t the only scrutiny that Cameron is facing in the lead-up to his next blockbuster. Just when you think things couldn’t get worse, along comes a copyright infringement lawsuit – and it’s not the first time Cameron’s been hit with one.

Ryder vs Cameron

On Monday, 3D animator Eric Ryder filed a lawsuit against Disney and Cameron, claiming that he plagiarized his work in the second Avatar movie, Avatar: The Way of Water.

According to Reuters, Ryder says he previously worked with Cameron’s production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, to make a movie based on his sci-fi story KRZ. KRZ, who is suing Cameron for $500 million in damages and is also requesting a court order blocking the new film's release.

This isn’t the first time Ryder has issued a lawsuit against Cameron, however. Back in 2011, Ryder sued Cameron for similar reasons over the first movie installment, Avatar (2009), but the case was eventually dismissed. According to his latest lawsuit, "This action is not an attempt to relitigate prior claims" and instead “challenges new acts of copying that occur for the first time in Avatar 2."

In Avatar: The Way of Water, Ryder says that its plot focuses on "the harvesting of an animal-based substance that when refined can extend human life," which he claims was an integral storyline of his own KRZ idea but wasn’t used for the first Avatar movie.

While Cameron has been vocal about criticism of his use of 3D and high frame rate in his work, neither he nor Lightstorm Entertainment has issued a statement regarding Ryder’s lawsuit.

Avatar: Fire and Ash will be released in US cinemas on December 19, 2025. Its first two movies, Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water, are available to stream on Disney+.

Don't start a flame war with me just yet, James Cameron fans. Avatar: Fire and Ash is a movie that I genuinely enjoyed, but its cinematic baggage is a huge problem.

By 'baggage,' I of course mean the two previous Avatar films. When the original was released back in 2009, I quickly assumed (as did the rest of the world, I think) it would be a historical, record-breaking standalone. Now that the sequels have started landing, however, I think the concept has lost its shine.

The most straightforward way of describing Fire and Ash is that it's exactly the same movie as The Way of Water. For about 90% of its arduously long runtime (wear comfy clothes and book a recliner seat, if possible) the only difference is which natural element has stepped into the spotlight.

I'm even convinced that a pivotal scene has been cut and pasted in from the second film, so strong was the sense of déjà vu I experienced while watching it. There's the same inciting incident, the same challenges, and the same conclusion, for the third outing in a row.

However, if we look at Fire and Ash in isolation, I think that it's the strongest film of the bunch. It has the tightest pacing, the most impressive payoff, and Cameron's overall vision for Pandora gets more spellbinding as time goes on.

It's such a shame that it's brought down by context, much as a young person might be blighted by their family history before they've started to make their way in the world. We can't ignore that our third movie functions as a cog in the overarching Avatar machine... and that machine can only tell one, now fairly grating, tale.

Avatar: Fire and Ash's beauty tricks us into thinking that it's interesting

Usually, when I tell people that I find the Avatar movies boring, they look at me as if I've just kicked their dog. But I stand by my overriding IP argument – we are being hoodwinked into believing that what we're watching is interesting because it's so visually transcendent. In other words, beautiful cancels out boring.

I would give 35 stars, rather than 3.5, to how Avatar: Fire and Ash looks alone if the conventions of reviewing let me. I wanted to reach out and touch the Na'avi, marvelling at the detailed wrinkles, blemishes and intricate patterns being beamed across the big screen (in 3D, no less). I felt grateful to have hours witnessing it with my own eyeballs, worshipping at the altar of a kind of filmmaking that has yet to be matched or replicated.

Now imagine we took all of that away ,and the same story was acted out by humans or fully animated characters (let's hypothetically say in a Pixar movie style). What we're left with is a fairly run-of-the-mill sci-fi story comprised of fighting, disagreements, and themes of discovering your own identity and power. That could be applied to pretty much any movie in this genre, and others do it infinitely better (Aliens and The Abyss are Cameron's best work as it is).

Instead, Avatar is heralded as untouchable because of its astonishing visuals, regardless of the fact that The Way of Water and Fire and Ash are telling the same story, even though Fire and Ash does it more successfully. There are virtually no differences between them, especially if it's been a while since you've seen the second movie. How many times can you recycle the same ideas and get away with it, even if you're James Cameron?

Is everything else brilliant or oddly strange? I can't decide

As I've said, Fire and Ash is easily the strongest Avatar entry in isolation. Our fire Na'avi, led by Varang (Oona Chaplin) are an invigorating addition to Pandora's worldbuilding, giving both Jake (Sam Worthington) and Quaritch (Stephen Lang) a run for their money.

We surprisingly get much more whale time than in The Way of Water, and that's sensational news if you're a Payakan fan like me. There are a couple of aquatic creatures introduced that I'd like to have seen more of (there are some strange-but-cute-looking otters), and it remains the most remarkable biome in Pandora. It's also the place where the younger cast members can be the most themselves, and they're collectively the strongest performance in our Na'avi ensemble.

This doesn't include Sigourney Weaver, though. Kiri is a major player in Fire and Ash, and in the full pomp of her "this is what I'm capable of" journey. However, I think it's blindingly obvious that a 76-year-old woman is playing a 14-year-old. The giveaway is in the way Kiri moves, which is clearly the one downside of Cameron's maverick filming approach.

The main detail that bothers me, though – in the sense that I can't decide if it's satisfying or dreadful – is the conclusion. Without giving away what actually happens, there's narratively no need for any further movies. We get complete answers to any loose threads that may have been hanging over the franchise, so what does this mean for Avatar 4 and 5?

My guess is that they will each be a huge departure from what we've seen before, and while I should be grateful for that fact (given my biggest complaint here), that's also a concern. Our trilogy currently feels nicely rounded off, and any future sequels could feel gratuitous... or dare I say, like cash grabs.

But that's a problem for 2029, when Avatar 4 is set to arrive. In the meantime I'll remain conflicted about my enjoyment of Fire and Ash, even though I ultimately feel that it's monotonous. Still, at least you can watch essentially the same movie on Disney+ globally right now if you don't want to see Fire and Ash in theaters or wait for it to arrive on streaming – Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water are already on there, and Fire and Ash will likely join them in 2026.

2025 is almost over – but, before the sun sets on it, there's plenty of Disney+ content to enjoy in the final two months of the year.

November will be packed with new Disney+ movies and TV shows to watch on one of the world's best streaming services, too. From The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Disney+ debut and the arrival of Freakier Friday, to Kim Kardashian's new TV drama and Chris Hemsworth's latest National Geographic documentary, you'll be spoiled for choice over the next 30 days.

Before you proceed, bear in mind that some of the below offerings are region-specific. For example, Dancing With the Stars is only available in the US, so you won't be able to stream everything listed below where you live. With that housekeeping out of the way, here's everything that's coming to Disney+ in November 2025.

November 1

• CoCoMelon JJ's Animal Time seasons 1 to 3 (TV show)
• Joy to the World (movie)

November 2

• Traveling with Snow Man episode 10 (TV show)

November 4

• All's Fair episodes 1 to 3 (TV show)
• Dancing With the Stars season 34 episode 8 (TV show)

November 5

• 9-1-1 season 9 episode 5 (TV show)
• 9-1-1: Nashville season 1 episode 5 (TV show)
• Ancient Aliens season 21 (TV show)
• Disney Twisted Wonderland: The Animation episode 2 (TV show)
• High Potential season 2 episode 8 (TV show)
• Murdaugh: Death in the Family episode 6 (TV show)
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps (movie)
• The Manipulated episodes 1 to 4 (TV show)

November 6

• The Kardashians season 7 episode 3 (TV show)

November 7

• Fire And Water: Making The Avatar Films (documentary)
• Life-Size (movie)
• Love + War (documentary)
• Seventeen: Our Chapter episode 1 (docuseries)
• The Worst Trip Around the World (TV show)

November 8

• 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (live event)

November 10

• Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth (documentary)

November 11

• All's Fair episode 4 (TV show)
• Dancing With the Stars season 34 episode 9 (TV show)
• Tracker season 3 (TV show)

November 12

• 9-1-1 season 9 episode 6 (TV show)
• 9-1-1: Nashville season 1 episode 6 (TV show)
• Disney Twisted Wonderland: The Animation episode 3 (TV show)
• Freakier Friday (movie)
• Marvel’s Iron Man and his Awesome Friends (TV show)
• Murdaugh: Death in the Family episode 7 (TV show)
• The Manipulated episode 5 (TV show)

November 13

• The Kardashians season 7 episode 4 (TV show)
• Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 3 episodes 1 to 10 (TV show)

November 14

• A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (movie)
• Botched Bariatrics season 1 (TV show)
• LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails (TV special)
• Madame Web (movie)
• Seventeen: Our Chapter episode 2 (docuseries)

November 18

• All's Fair episode 5 (TV show)
• Armand (movie)
• Dancing With the Stars season 34 episode 10 (TV show)
• Me & Mickey: In the Clubhouse season 4 (TV show)
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+ (TV show)

November 19

• 9-1-1 season 9 episode 7 (TV show)
• 9-1-1: Nashville season 1 episode 7 (TV show)
• Disney Twisted Wonderland: The Animation episode 4 (TV show)
• English Teacher season 2 (TV show)
• Murdaugh: Death in the Family episode 8 (TV show)
• The Manipulated episode 6 (TV show)

November 20

• The Kardashians season 7 episode 5 (TV show)

November 21

• A Day Late and a Dollar Short (movie)
• A House on Fire Tempting Fate (movie)
• Biography: Dolly Parton (documentary)
• Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup (TV show)
• Sebastian Maniscalco: It Ain’t Right (comedy special)
• Seventeen: Our Chapter episode 3 (docuseries)
• Wrath: A Seven Deadly Sins Story (movie)

November 22

• Christmas Cookie Challenge (TV show)

November 24

• Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Remember (Documentary)

November 25

• All's Fair episode 6 (TV show)
• Dancing With the Stars season 34 episode 11 (TV show)
• The Ugly Stepsister (movie)

November 26

• 9-1-1 season 9 episode 8 (TV show)
• 9-1-1: Nashville season 1 episode 8 (TV show)
• The Beatles Anthology episodes 1 to 3 (Docuseries)
• Chibi Tiny Tales season 5 (TV show)
• Disney Twisted Wonderland: The Animation episode 5 (TV show)
• Kiff season 2 (TV show)
• Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends season 4 (TV show)

November 27

• The Beatles Anthology episodes 4 to 6 (Docuseries)
• The Kardashians season 7 episode 6 (TV show)

November 28

• The Beatles Anthology episodes 7 to 9 (Docuseries)
• Family Guy’s Hallmark Channel’s Lifetime’s Familiar Holiday Movie (movie)
• Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol (movie)
• Seventeen: Our Chapter episode 4 (docuseries)

November 29

• Holiday Baking Championship (TV show)

November 30

• Little Angel season 7 (TV show)
• The First Omen (movie)

• Avatar: Fire and Ash has a full length trailer
• The anticipated threequel will be released on December 19
• It features returning names like Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña and Sigourney Weaver

The wait is over, Avatar fans, as we've got a first trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash, which is the third movie in James Cameron's sci-fi franchise and is set to be one of this year's biggest new movies.

The previous two entries in the series – 2009’s Avatar and 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water – were both box-office smashes. Hopefully, the third installment will see similar success when it's released on December 19.

Expectations among fans of the series are certainly high, with the trailer having already amassed nine million views at the time of writing. Take a look and see it for yourself below.

What we know so far about Avatar: Fire and Ash

Spoilers follow for Avatar: The Way of Water. Turn back now if you haven't seen it.

The new Avatar movie certainly looks intriguing, especially as it introduces Pandora’s newest adversary.

The movie will follow on from a heartbreaking moment in Avatar: The Way of Water, which means Avatar: Fire and Ash is set to open with Jake and Neytiri’s family as they grapple with grief following the loss of Neteyam, the couple's eldest child.

The family later encounters a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe called the Ash People, who are led by the fiery tribe leader, Varang. This same tribe has allied with Jake's enemy Miles Quaritch, causing conflict on Pandora to escalate.

Fire and Ash will have a runtime of three hours and 12 minutes, making it the longest installment in the franchise so far. This is exciting news for fans wanting to dive deeper into Cameron's beautifully shot universe.

There's great news on the casting front too as Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña and Sigourney Weaver are all reprising their roles in this movie.

We have a while to wait until Fire and Ash is released, but it'll be one to entertain us over the holiday season. I'm really hoping for good things.

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I've shot thousands of hours of video over the years of my career and I can tell you that it takes lots of preparation, work, and energy. I can also tell you that if you use an AI avatar video generator like HeyGen, it takes almost none of the above, and that scares the heck out of me.

With the advent of high-quality generative video, these AI video avatars are popping up everywhere. I haven't paid much attention, mostly because I like being on camera and am happy to do it for TV and social video. Even so, I know not everyone loves the spotlight and would happily hand the duties over to an avatar, and when I got a glimpse of the apparent quality of HeyGen's avatars, I was intrigued enough to give it a try. Now I honestly wish I hadn't.

HeyGen, which you can use on mobile or desktop, is a simple and powerful platform for creating AI avatars that can, based on scripts you provide, speak to the camera for you. They're useful for video presentations, social media, interactive avatars, training videos, and essentially anything where an engaging human face might help sell the topic or information.

HeyGen lets you create digital twins that can appear in relatively static videos or ones in which the other you is on the move. For my experience, I chose the 'Still' option.

Setting up another me

There are some rules for creating your avatar and I think following them as I did may have resulted in the slightly off-putting quality of my digital twin.

HeyGen recommends you start the process by shooting a video of yourself using either a professional camera or one of your best smartphones, but the video should be at least 1080p. If you use the free version as I did, you'll note that the final videos are only 720p. Upgrade later and you can start producing full HD video avatars (more on the pricing structure later).

There are other bits of guidance like using a "nice background," avoiding harsh shadows" and background noise, and a few that are key to selling the digital twin version of you. HeyGen asked that I look directly (but not creepily, I assume) at the camera, make normal (open to interpretation) gestures below chest level, and take pauses between sentences. The last bit is actually good advice for making real videos. I have a habit of speaking stream of consciousness and forget to pause and create obvious soundbites for editing.

Here, though, the pauses are not about what you're saying, at least for the training video. It seems to be about learning to manage your twin's face and mouth when you're talking and when you're not.

In any case, I could say anything I wanted to the camera as long as it was for at least 2 minutes. More video will help with the quality of new videos featuring your avatar.

Training to be me

I set up my iPhone 16 Pro Max and a couple of lights and filmed myself in my home office for 2 minutes speaking about nonsense, all the while making sure to take 1-second pauses and to keep my gestures from being too wild. After I Airdropped it to my MacBook Air, I uploaded the video. It was at this point it became clear that as a non-paying user, I was handing over virtually all video rights to HeyGen. Not optimal at all but I was not about to start paying $24 a month for the basic plan and to return control of my image.

The HeyGen system took considerable time to ingest the video and prepare my digital twin. Once it was ready, I was able to create my first 3-minute video. Paying customers can create 5-minute videos or longer, depending on which service tier they choose, Paying also grants access to faster video processing.

To create a video, I selected the video format: portrait or landscape. I shot my training video in portrait but that did not seem to matter. I also had to provide a script that I could type or paste into a field that accepts a maximum of 2000 characters.

For someone who writes for a living, I struggled with the script, finally settling a on brief soliloquy from Hamlet. After checking the script length, the system went to work and slowly generated my first HeyGen Digital Twin video. I must've accidentally kept some blank spaces at the end of my script because about half of it is the digital me silently vamping for the cameras. It's unsettling.

Nothing is real

I followed this up with a tight TikTok video where I revealed that the video they were watching was not really me. My third video and the last of my free monthly allotment, was of me telling a joke: "Have you ever played quiet tennis? It's the same as regular tennis but without the racket. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" As you might've guessed, the punchline doesn't really land and because my digital twin never smiles and delivers the "laughter" in a completely humorless way, none of it is even remotely funny.

In all of these videos, I was struck by the audio quality. It's the essence of my voice but also not my voice. It's too robotic and lacking in emotion. At least it's properly synced with the mouth. The visuals, on the other hand, are almost perfect. My digital twin looks just like me or, at least a very emotionless version of me who is into Tim Cook keynote-style hand gestures. To be fair, I didn't know what to do with my hands when I originally recorded my training video, worrying that if I didn't control my often wild hand gestures they would look bizarre with my digital twin. I was wrong. This overly-controlled twin is the bizarre one.

Just nope

On TikTok, someone wrote, "Nobody likes this. Nobody wants this." When I posted the video on Threads, the reactions ranged from shock to dismay. People noticed my "distracting" hand gestures, called it "creepy", and worried that such videos represented the "death of truth."

But here's the thing. While the AI-generated video is concerning, it did not say anything I did not write or copy and paste. Yes, my digital twin is well past uncanny and deep into unnervingly accurate but at least it's doing my bidding. The concern is if you have a good 2-minute video of someone else speaking, could you upload that and then make it say whatever you want? Possibly.

HeyGen gets credit for effectively creating a no-fuss digital twin video generator. It's far from perfect and could be vastly improved if they also had users train it on emotions (the right looks for 'funny', 'sad', 'mad', you get it) and a wider variety of facial expressions (a smile or two would be nice). Until then these digital twins will be our emotionless doubles, waiting to do our video bidding.

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The founder and CEO of video conferencing company Zoom wants AI avatars to take your place, despite meetings being the entire point of his company.

Yuan made reference to the idea of having a ‘digital twin’ that you can ‘count on’, presumably to say all of the things you would say in an interview anyway, in an interview with The Verge.

“We’re not there yet,” said Yuan, “but that’s a reason why there’s limitations in today’s [large language models]. Everyone shares the same LLM. It doesn’t make any sense. I should have my own LLM — Eric’s LLM, Nilay’s LLM. All of us, we will have our own LLM. Essentially, that’s the foundation for the digital twin."

Your own personal LLM

“Every morning I wake up, an AI will tell me, ‘Eric, you have five meetings scheduled today. You do not need to join four of the five. You only need to join one. You can send a digital version of yourself,’” he went on. 

“For the one meeting I join, after the meeting is over, I can get all the summary and send it to the people who couldn’t make it. Again, I can leverage the AI as my assistant and give me all kinds of input, just more than myself. That’s the vision.”

I can kind of see why Yuan wants Zoom to expand its brief: the company was the breakout star of a global pandemic, and now you’re spoilt for choice if you want to have a meeting from the comfort of your own home while wearing a buttoned shirt over a penguin onesie.

The company needs to survive for the shareholders’ wellbeing. It’s super relatable. However, this idea’s a bit… ridiculous, isn’t it? Most of the Verge interview is in ‘there are no bad ideas’ mode, but I am not that mode.

There’s some argument to be made for notes on meetings to be made and sent automatically to be sent - but that’s nothing new. I don’t even have to check our archives to Microsoft’s Copilot software already does this, as does actual Zoom, without the bell and whistle of an avatar purporting to be you in the meeting. Nothing meaningful is being added here.

So, you can either send a robot version of yourself to annoy your co-workers / minions, or a journalist who has taken an hour out of their day to find out that you can’t be bothered. 

The future Yuan is positing of a journalist’s personal LLM and a CEO’s LLM talking to each other to create content, or whatever, is violently bleak in itself, but then Yuan can’t help but let slip that, underneath his desire for an artificially intelligent digital twin who can reliably impersonate him, is his desire to manipulate that AI bot so that it can manipulate others.

“Sometimes I don’t join a sales call with customers. I know my weakness before sending a digital version of myself. I know that weakness. I can modify the parameter a little bit. [...] For that meeting I say, “Hey, tune that parameter to have better negotiation skills, send that version, and join.”

And then there’s the inevitable nightmare of an executive’s perfect artificial self, attuned for a specific purpose, being wielded against a consumer public. If you’ve made a mistake - maybe you've turned AI into a massive, sweeping security risk - send your AI hologram with the ‘contrition’ fader cranked to 11. Have a disappointing product that you’ve placed arbitrary limits on in the pursuit of infinite growth? Set that ‘sincerity’ dial to max for your keynote announcement vid, baby. 

Here we see a treatment of the symptoms, not the disease. If you don’t need to join four of the five meetings, those meetings shouldn’t be happening, and just not turning up is also an option. Don’t window dress it. 

Talk to the journalists you want to talk to, but don’t foist your robot tribute act on the ones you don’t just because you’re too socially awkward or on enough of a power trip to be honest about that.

As a journalist, that this idea has even come up makes me even less likely to want to talk to anyone who runs a company, because I’d want to pick their brain, not the machine-learned knowledge bank that they want me to pick.

I don’t get it. I think I’m supposed to be excited about it in the pursuit of technological advancement, but I actually see it deepening the divide between consumer and company. You are putty, there to be oblivious to leading arguments and deceit so that you submit to becoming a number on a spreadsheet.

If we’re now at the point where executives can’t even be bothered to do their own false sincerity, then that divide is clearer than ever, and you need to be thinking more critically about what a company is putting in front of you, especially as AI improves and it becomes less and less clear how much is real and what is synthetic.

The implications of this are woeful, and anything that’s been implemented as an evil plot in Doctor Who is objectively a horrible idea. However, Yuan deserves some credit for having made a thought-provoking pitch for CEOs being the perfect job to be eradicated and replaced by artificial intelligence.

An AI LLM of me wouldn’t come out with that, so color me uninterested.

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What are the best Disney+ movies? It's a question I suspect you've asked yourself on numerous occasions.

Well, allow me to help you answer that query. Below, my colleagues and I have rounded up 30 of the best films on Disney+, aka one of the world's best streaming services. We've categorized them by the primary genre and listed them alphabetically, too, so you can use the navigation bar on the left side of this page to jump to the kind of content you enjoy watching.

Unsurprisingly, this list isn't a definitive one. There are plenty of films in Disney+'s packed library and it's forever being added to when new Disney+ movies join the service. In short: you'll want to regularly check back in with us to see what movies have been added to this article. For now, though, read on to learn more about the best Disney+ movies you can stream right now.

Best animated movies on Disney+

Big Hero 6

Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Director: Don Hall and Chris Williams
RT score: 90% (critics)

• Watch Big Hero 6 on Disney+
• Watch the Big Hero 6 on trailer on YouTube

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Director: Wes Anderson
RT score: 93%

• Watch Fantastic Mr. Fox on Disney+
• Watch the Fantastic Mr. Fox trailer on YouTube

Frozen

Age rating: PG
Director: Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee
RT score: 90%

• Watch Frozen on Disney+
• Watch the Frozen trailer on YouTube

The Incredibles

Age rating: PG (US); U (UK)
Director: Brad Bird
RT score: 97%

• Watch The Incredibles on Disney+
• Watch The Incredibles trailer on YouTube

Inside Out

Age rating: PG (US); U (UK)
Director: Pete Docter
RT score: 98%

• Watch Inside Out on Disney+
• Watch the Inside Out trailer on YouTube

The Lion King

Age rating: G (US); U (UK)
Director: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff
RT score: 92%

• Watch Lion King on Disney+
• Watch the Lion King trailer on YouTube

Moana

Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Director: John Musker and Ron Clements
RT score: 95%

• Watch Moana on Disney+
• Watch the Moana trailer on YouTube

Soul

Age rating: PG
Director: Pete Docter and Kemp Powers
RT score: 95%

• Watch Soul on Disney+
• Watch the Soul trailer on YouTube

Tangled

Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Directors: Nathan Greno and Byron Howard
RT score: 89%

• Watch Tangled on Disney+
• Watch the Tangled trailer on YouTube

Toy Story 1 to 4

Age rating: G (US); U to PG (UK)
Director: John Lasseter (Toy Story), John Lasseter, Ash Brannon, and Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2), Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3), Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4)
RT score: 97% to 100% (critics); 87% to 94% (audience)

• Watch Toy Story on Disney+
• Watch the Toy Story trailer on YouTube

WALL-E

Age rating: G (US); U (UK)
Director: Andrew Stanton
RT score: 95%

• Watch WALL-E on Disney+
• Watch WALL-E trailer on YouTube

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
RT score: 96%

• Watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit on Disney+
• Watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit trailer on YouTube

Best documentaries on Disney+

Free Solo

Age rating: PG (US)
Director: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
RT score: 97%

• Watch Free Solo on Disney+
• Watch the Free Solo trailer on YouTube

Music by John Williams

Age rating: PG (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Laurent Bouzereau
RT score: 100%

• Watch Music by John Williams on Disney+
• Watch the Music by John Williams trailer on YouTube

Best fantasy movies on Disney+

Big

Age rating: PG (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Penny Marshall
RT score: 98% (critics)

• Watch Big on Disney+
• Watch the Big trailer on YouTube

Enchanted

Age rating: PG (US); PG (UK)
Director: Kevin Lima
RT score: 93%

• Watch Enchanted on Disney+
• Watch the Enchanted trailer on YouTube

Best horror movies on Disney+

No One Will Save You

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 16 (UK)
Director: Brian Duffield
RT score: 83%

• Watch No One Will Save You on Disney+
• Watch the No One Will Save You trailer on YouTube

Ready or Not

Age rating: R (US); 18 (UK)
Director: Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
RT score: 89%

• Watch Ready or Not on Disney+
• Watch Ready or Not trailer on YouTube

Best Marvel movies on Disney+

Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers: Endgame

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Antony Russo and Joe Russo
RT score: 85% / 94%

• Watch Avengers: Infinity War on Disney+ and Avengers: Endgame on Disney+
• Watch the Avengers: Infinity War trailer and the Avengers: Endgame trailer on YouTube

Black Panther

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Ryan Coogler
RT score: 96%

• Watch Black Panther on Disney+
• Watch the Black Panther trailer on YouTube

Deadpool

Age rating: R (US); 15 (UK)
Director: Tim Miller
RT score: 85% (critics)

• Watch Deadpool on Disney+
• Watch the Deadpool trailer on YouTube

Logan

Age rating: R (US); 15 (UK)
Director: James Mangold
RT score: 93%

• Watch Logan on Disney+
• Watch the Logan trailer on YouTube

Thor: Ragnarok

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Taika Waititi
RT score: 93%

• Watch Thor: Ragnarok on Disney+
• Watch Thor: Ragnarok trailer on YouTube

X2: X-Men United

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Bryan Singer
RT score: 85%

• Watch X2: X-Men United on Disney+
• Watch X2: X-Men United trailer on YouTube

Best musical movies on Disney+

Hamilton

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Thomas Kail
RT score: 98%

• Watch Hamilton on Disney+
• Watch the Hamilton trailer on YouTube

Mary Poppins

Age rating: G (US); PG (UK)
Director: Robert Stevenson
RT score: 97%

• Watch Mary Poppins on Disney+
• Watch the Mary Poppins trailer on YouTube

West Side Story

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Steven Spielberg
RT score: 92%

• Watch West Side Story on Disney+
• Watch West Side Story trailer on YouTube

Best sci-fi movies on Disney+

Avatar

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Director: James Cameron
RT score: 81% (critics)

• Watch Avatar on Disney+
• Watch Avatar's trailer on YouTube

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Age rating: PG-13 (US); 12 (UK)
Director: Gareth Edwards
RT score: 84%

• Watch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Disney+
• Watch the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer on YouTube

Star Wars Episodes IV to VI

Age rating: PG (US); U and PG (UK)
Director: George Lucas (A New Hope), Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back), Richard Marquand (Return of the Jedi)
RT score: 82% to 95%

• Watch Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope on Disney+
• Watch Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope's trailer on YouTube

How we choose the best Disney+ movies

There are more than 500 movies to choose from on Disney Plus and while a lot are great watches, not all would be considered the best. To be picked as one of the best to stream on the service and be included in this guide, a movie must have a Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics of at least 80%, be available to stream on the Disney Plus app in the US, UK and Australia, and recommended by one of the members of the TechRadar streaming team.

This is by no means an exhaustive list and we'll continue to add to the guide as new movies get added to the service, while also making sure to remove any that don't fit the above criteria. As more movies get added on a regular basis, we’ll be sure to keep this updated. So, be sure to check back. And, if you’re not a subscriber and are considering it, here’s a guide to Disney Plus that’s packed with useful information on signing up.

For more Disney+ coverage, get the lowdown on the best Disney+ shows, read our Disney+ price guide, and whether there's a free Disney+ trial available.

Best Disney Plus movies: FAQs

The most recent chapter in our collective love affair with 3D movies came and went quickly, with set manufacturers scrambling to add the feature to the best TVs around 2010, and then retreating completely from 3D support soon after. In a few short years, it was over. During that era, I amassed a sizeable collection of Blu-ray 3D discs, and they now sit filed away in a remote corner of my media cabinet, a reminder of that time and a potent source of nostalgia.

It may have disappeared from TVs, but 3D never really went away. Movies on Blu-ray 3D continue to trickle out, though if you want to view them in that format you need to watch them on the best 4K projectors, some of which still support 3D. You can also catch movies in theaters in 3D, with the most recent blockbuster showcase for the format being the Avatar sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. 

Now, there's another way to watch movies in 3D at home: the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Movies in 3D can be purchased on the Vision Pro’s Apple TV app, and an extensive collection of titles are available to stream on its Disney Plus app. Three titles – these are Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Titanic – are also available in those apps in a “motion-graded” High Frame Rate (HFR) format, which is how they were shown in Imax theaters – The Way of Water on its initial release, and Avatar and Titanic in re-release.

Pixelworks, the company behind the TrueCut motion grading technology used for the post-production of all three movies, recently lent me a headset so I could check out motion-graded 3D on the Apple Vision Pro, which is currently the only source for home 3D movie releases other than Blu-ray disc. It was a treat to spend time with Apple’s pricey, elaborate mixed reality headset, which you can read all about in our Apple Vision Pro review. Playing movies in 3D format is just one of the many things the Apple Vision Pro can do, and it does it exceptionally well.

 Looking back on 3D TVs

Having spent many hours watching 3D movies with my kids during the 3D TV heyday – plenty of the releases were animated ones, and they were at the prime age to enjoy them – I’m well aware of what good – and mediocre – 3D looks like. Perhaps the best example of 3D animation I know of is Coraline, based on the book by Neil Gaiman and directed by Henry Selick (Coraline, incidentally, is getting a 3D theatrical re-release in summer 2024 to celebrate its 15th birthday). That disc got plenty of play in my house, and it’s one I would regularly use to test 3D TVs.

Another successful example of 3D cinema is the original Avatar, which looked fantastic in theaters and on Blu-ray. Aside from watching Martin Scorcese’s Hugo, another 3D triumph, it would be 13 years before I found myself absorbed by a 3D movie, and that was when I watched Avatar: The Way of Water at an IMAX theater. But in the case of Avatar: The Way of Water, 3D was only one thing that made the experience impressive. Another, equally important, one was its motion-graded Cinematic HFR presentation.

TrueCut Motion: how it works 

Unlike typical movies shown with a 24 frames-per-second (fps) frame rate, movies motion-graded using Pixelworks’ technology display at a higher, 48 fps rate. HFR’s main benefit is it eliminates the judder and blur artifacts accompanying fast-motion scenes captured at 24 fps. But boosting the frame rate to 48fps can also give movies an overly fluid and unnatural look, especially in quiet scenes with no action.

With TrueCut motion grading, the filmmaker can selectively vary frame rates on a scene-by-scene basis in post-production, using a higher rate for fast-action scenes, and a standard 24 fps rate for more typical ones. This process will give viewers the best of both worlds: crisp, blur- and judder-free images in shots with action, and a natural sense of motion when the action slows down.

Enter the virtual theater 

To compare motion-graded and non-motion-graded movies on the Apple Vision Pro, I first watched a downloaded version of No Time to Die, the most recent entry in the James Bond film franchise. No Time to Die is a movie with action scenes galore, and it’s one I’ve used many times to evaluate a TV’s motion handling. So, why not also on Apple’s mixed-reality headset?

Watching a scene where the camera pans slowly across a cemetery on a rough, hilly landscape, the image showed plenty of motion blur and a significant loss of detail. In a subsequent scene where Bond and Madeline race in a car through city streets with assassins in hot pursuit, buildings in the background also had a blurred quality that made the image look overly soft.

It would have been an ideal comparison if a motion-graded version of No Time to Die were available (it’s not), but I instead had to make do with watching a download of the motion-graded version of the original Avatar.

Same as when I watched it in a theater, and on 3D TVs back in the day, Avatar on the Apple Vision Pro had excellent 3D depth, and I was easily immersed in its 3D world. TrueCut motion grading made the film’s almost non-stop action scenes look consistently crisp, with the Na’vi and the creatures they rode upon and the intricately rendered jungle backgrounds looking equally solid and detailed. I also didn’t feel the action was happening unnaturally fast, which would have quickly whisked me out of the 3D world.

Checking out other 3D movies in the Disney Plus app, Avatar: The Way of Water was a highlight, with eye-popping 3D effects and fantastic picture contrast made possible by the Apple Vision Pro’s powerfully bright display. It looked better than I remembered from my theater experience, though the motion wasn’t as consistently natural across scenes as in the re-mastered Avatar. 

The new 3D – same as the old, but with a twist 

I may harbor nostalgia for 3D movies, but I can’t say I’ve missed them terribly since the last 3D boom fizzled out. Avatar: The Way of Water was a welcome throwback, but one 3D blockbuster doesn’t equal a 3D revival.

Fortunately for movie fans, motion-graded Cinematic HFR is catching on. Following Avatar, its sequel, and Titanic being shown in theaters in the format, Argylle and Kung Fu Panda 4 from DreamWorks Animation have been released in Cinematic HFR. That indicates steady progress for the format, especially since both Argylle and Kung Fu Panda 4 are from studios other than Disney.

I’ve had fun watching 3D movies on the Apple Vision Pro, though there admittedly is something a bit alienating about sitting in a chair wearing a headset for extended periods. But then again, 3D movies have always involved wearing some form of awkward eyewear that removed you from everyday existence, and maybe that’s their ultimate appeal.

You might also like

• You’ll need an Apple Vision Pro to watch Avatar 2 as James Cameron intended
• Apple Vision Pro’s new 3D IMAX movies show it could succeed where 3D TVs failed
• Avatar is being remastered in high frame rate – but your current 4K TV can’t handle it

Avatar: The Way of Water is swimming onto Disney Plus and Max this month, but if you haven't seen the original or want to see it as director James Cameron intended we've got great news: Disney Plus has given the highest grossing movie of all time a massive 4K upgrade. 

The original Avatar came out in 2009 and it was so ahead of its time that it still looks incredibly fresh today. Its imagined world, Pandora, is absolutely gorgeous and the 3D motion capture hasn't dated at all. Like most Cameron films you can poke holes in it if you want to be really picky, but as a visual spectacle it's hard to beat – we ranked every James Cameron movie from worst to best and it sits in the top five. 

Until recently Disney Plus was only streaming Avatar in HD, but it's now available in 4K UHD with HDR 10 and Dolby Atmos, making it more than enough of a reason to revisit this classic. If you prefer to get your movies on disc and own one of the best 4K Blu-ray players, there will also be a limited release on 4K-Ultra DVD on June 20. 

The Avatar movies are a real feast for the eyes, so it's no wonder that Apple chose the sequel to showcase the picture quality of its Vision Pro headset – after all, it's how Cameron intended the 3D spectacle to be enjoyed. 

What do I need to stream Avatar in 4K?

First of all, you'll need a 4K TV – and you'll need one that supports Dolby Vision HDR. Our guide to the best 4K TVs 2023 will help you find a suitable model if you don't already have one. There's been a bit of a HDR format war, as our HDR10 vs Dolby Vision guide explains, but the short version is that Dolby Vision is the better HDR tech and it's widely supported on recent TVs.

You'll also need Dolby Atmos for the full 3D audio experience. Not all TVs support Atmos, but many have a feature called "passthrough" that passes the audio data onto your Atmos compatible soundbar or AV receiver. Naturally we have a guide to the best Dolby Atmos soundbars and speakers 2023. Personally, I love Atmos – whether I'm watching a blockbuster movie or a tense TV show it really adds to the immersion.

Last but not least, you'll need a Disney Plus subscription. If you're not already a subscriber, our Disney Plus review is a great overview of what you'll find once you've enjoyed Avatar. You can subscribe for just a month, but the annual subscription works out a lot cheaper. And our guide to the best 35 Disney Plus shows to stream in June 2023 is a great way to find some really stellar shows.

Apple’s WWDC 2023 event was packed with product announcements, with new MacBook Air and Mac Studio computers leading the charge, followed by new software updates for everything from Mac OS to the Apple Watch and Apple TV 4K.

But the main event for Apple fans – that famous one more thing – was the Apple Vision Pro, a $3,499 AR headset that uses a 3D user interface to blend a virtual computing environment with the real world just beyond the wearer’s direct field of vision. The Vision Pro is essentially a head-mounted computer, but watching Apple’s announcement for it on the company’s YouTube channel, it occurred to me that it’s also the next opportunity for a 3D TV revival.

After rising to prominence in the 2010s, 3D TVs just as quickly disappeared from the market as consumers became disenchanted with the format. And who could blame them? On the movie front, 3D got off to a blazing start with Avatar, which was made available for viewing at home on Blu-ray 3D, a format that most of the best 4k Blu-ray players still support.

But the movie industry never followed up on the 3D promise of the technically distinguished Avatar, with many releases that followed simply using a 3D master created using a simple upconversion of the 2D original. Between a lack of compelling content and the physical clunkiness of having to wear glasses both at the theater and at home (with the added annoyance of home 3D glasses having built-in batteries that needed to be regularly recharged), 3D TVs waned in popularity and companies soon stopped making them altogether.

Not that 3D at home disappeared entirely. A good number of the best 4K projectors provide 3D support (glasses optional), and Blu-ray 3D discs also continue to trickle out even to this present day. But I had nearly forgotten about 3D… until I saw Avatar: The Way of Water in a theater, in 3D. What an experience!

Apple Vision Pro: the start of a 3D movie revival? 

A great feature of the new Apple Vision Pro for movie fans is Cinema Environment. When watching movies using Apple's headset, this will block out other elements in the interface and basically dim the lights for movie time. The Vision Pro also supports Spatial Audio, letting users take advantage of that feature when using AirPods Pro 2 or other compatible headphones or earbuds.

I’d previously complained about how the digital release of Avatar: The Way of Water, which also just arrived on Disney Plus, wouldn't have advanced features such as high frame rate video or 3D that made it such a special experience in the theater. But Apple’s presentation showed The Way of Water being screened in 3D on the Vision Pro, which supports movie playback in that format. Not just that, but the presentation was made by Disney CEO Bob Iger, who announced that Disney Plus would be available on the Vision Pro from day one.

Does Apple’s tight relationship with Disney mean future high-profile releases from that studio such as Marvel movies and Star Wars-related series will also be in 3D on the Vision Pro? Well, why not? 3D imaging technology is baked in there, and Apple’s new platform makes heavy use of it.

And even if we do get a repeat of the 3D movies boom and bust of the 2010s on the Vision Pro, with Avatar: The Way of Water being the only release to have a significant impact, then at least users can make their own 3D movies. That’s right: among its many other uses, Apple’s AR headset is also a 3D camera, with users having the ability to shoot 3D video and share it with other Vision Pro users. Maybe, just maybe, that will end up being the killer app for 3D TV.

Have you ever wondered what kind of movie we'd get if you combined The Last of Us, The Terminator, Star Wars, and Avatar?

Wonder no more, dear reader, for we have the answer: it would look like The Creator. On the surface, the next big-screen offering from director Gareth Edwards (Star Wars: Rogue One, Godzilla) looks like another generic dystopian sci-fi flick. Under the hood, though, it's clearly drawn inspiration from a variety of box office smash hits and legendary film franchises – resulting in a broadly appealing movie that could entice fans of multiple genres to watch it in theaters later this year.

Still not convinced? Take a look at The Creator's first trailer below:

All done? Now, you try and tell me that it isn't directly pulling from some of the biggest films and TV shows of the past 40 years.

For one, The Creator's 'artificial intelligence (AI) has taken over the world' storyline is highly reminiscent of The Terminator franchise (find out where Terminator 1 placed in our list of the best James Cameron movies while you're here). Next, its explosive, beach-based battle sequences have clearly been influenced by the climactic fight seen in Rogue One, Edwards' 2016 Star Wars movie.

Add in its dirty and dystopian aesthetic, which reminds me of Neil Blonkamp's seminal District 9, plus the humanoid imagery seen throughout the teaser that's comparable to Alex Garland's Ex Machina, and it's obvious that some of the best sci-fi movies of all time have inspired Edwards' artistic and narrative direction for his latest big-screen epic.

That's not all, either. The grimy, industrial feel of this neofuturistic world could easily sit in a cyberpunk-style film like Blade Runner. Add in the 'father figure must protect their surrogate child' plot point, and the 'humanity going to war against a race it's afraid of/doesn't fully understand', and comparisons to TV shows like The Last of Us (available on HBO Max) and The Mandalorian (streaming now on Disney Plus), plus incredibly successful box office hits like Avatar: The Way of Water, are also inevitable.

Okay, so what's The Creator actually about? Here's a brief plot synopsis, courtesy of 20th Century Studios:

"Amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua (Tenet's John David Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife (Eternals' Gemma Chan), is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war… and mankind itself. 

"Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines, into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory… only to discover the world-ending weapon he’s been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child. "

Joining Washington and Chan in this one are Ken Watanabe (Godzilla, Inception), Sturgill Simpson (Dog), Allison Janney (I, Tonya) and newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles.

The Creator arrives exclusively in theaters on September 29. Expect it to join our burgeoning new movies of 2023 guide shortly.

A timely examination of the dangers of AI

Events depicted in movies like The Creator, The Terminator, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I, Robot – where AI threatens the existence of humankind – have become embedded in the cultural zeitgeist for over 50 years. The Creator's own examination of the potentially destructive force of AI, then, isn't a wholly original idea for a film.

However, the forthcoming release of Edwards' latest silver screen project couldn't be more timely – especially in the wake of the AI industry's rapid expansion since the beginning of 2023.

The advent, and subsequent explosion, of AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft Bing has fueled discussions about the possible perils of such technology. Many of those conversations have centered on 'what if?' scenarios, including those that question whether AI chatbots will become more intelligent than humans and, just as Skynet did in The Terminator, unleash a robot uprising that could push mankind to the brink of extinction.

In fact, the creator of ChatGPT – Sam Altman – spoke of the dangers of AI-based technology during a recent US Senate hearing. In a rare move for a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur, Altman even implored the world's governments to begin regulating the AI industry before the technology becomes "too powerful" for humanity to combat. Altman's comments follow hot on the heels of similar ones made by Geoffrey Hinton, the so-called 'Godfather of AI', who left his position at Google over the risk associated with AI chatbots and the meteoric, unregulated growth of this science-based sector.

The forthcoming release of The Creator, then, shouldn't just be viewed as another by-the-books sci-fi post-apocalyptic story. Yes, movies are created to – first and foremost – entertain us, but the best ones also leave us with questions and themes to mull over. It's difficult not to look at The Creator and consider how the unregulated rise of AI doesn't jeopardize humanity's very existence – and that makes Edwards' new movie all the more pertinent.

For more movie and AI-based coverage, read up on all the new Netflix movies and new Prime Video movies to land on these services. Alternatively, find out whether Microsoft Bing or Google Bard is winning the AI chatbot fight (outside of ChatGPT, anyway), or learn about the best AI writers.

Avatar: The Way of Water is ready to make its 'proper' streaming debut – but it won't be a Disney Plus exclusive.

The box office juggernaut, which is the third-highest-grossing movie of all time, is set to arrive on Disney Plus and Max on Wednesday, June 7. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) confirmed Avatar 2 would arrive on their respective platforms in separate press releases on May 15.

It's about time Avatar: The Way of Water made its way onto a big streaming service – or, in this case, two. James Cameron's latest money-spinning sci-fi flick launched in theaters in December 2022, so it's been a lengthy wait for its official streaming debut. 

We say official, too, because Avatar 2 has technically been available to stream at home since March 28. However, it's only been available to rent or buy on select services, such as Apple TV and the Amazon store, meaning Disney Plus subscribers have had to bide their time for The Way of Water to swim its way onto the service.

Given Avatar 2's colossal performance at the box office, it isn't a huge surprise that its streaming debut has been delayed. Cameron's latest big-budget movie earned itself a not-too-shabby $2.32 billion globally; a figure that cemented its place as the biggest money-making film of 2022, and the highest-grossing movie of the so-called pandemic era.

We weren't shocked by Avatar 2's titanic performance, though, especially as we rated it as one of the best movies of 2022. In our Avatar: The Way of Water review, we called it a "phenomenal feat of filmmaking", and said Cameron "delivered on the promise of truly jaw-dropping visual effects, he also gives a beating heart to a story that, somehow, manages to make us care deeply for a family of blue aliens... we haven't encountered for a decade."

If you somehow missed Avatar 2 in theaters – or were simply waiting for it to be available on one of the best streaming services around – then, the wait is nearly over. And, thanks to a deal between WBD and Disney, viewers in some world regions will have a choice of where they can stream it.

Setting sail for two separate streamers

Avatar 2 might be a Disney-owned movie – the entertainment behemoth owns 20th Century Studios, which produced the film – but it won't be a Disney Plus exclusive. 

As I mentioned earlier, it's also coming to Max, WBD's new super-streamer. The platform, which launches on May 23, is essentially HBO Max's replacement, and will combine the content libraries of HBO Max and Discovery Plus (the latter will still be offered as a standalone service, however). You can find out more about Max's forthcoming launch in our article 7 things HBO Max fans need to know about the new Max streaming service.

So, why is Avatar: The Way of Water going to be available on Max as well as Disney Plus? Isn't it in Disney's best interests to make it exclusive on its biggest streaming platform?

It all boils down to a deal – one predating Warner Bros. and Discovery's merger in March 2022 – that Disney and Warner Bros. signed in November 2021. Basically, the agreement allows select 20th Century Studios movies to be shared between Disney Plus and Hulu, which Disney owns, and HBO Max. That enabled some 20th Century-developed films, such as The Banshees of Inisherin and Amsterdam, to be viewable on HBO Max for a certain amount of time.

With Avatar 2 releasing simultaneously on Max and Disney Plus, the agreement between Disney Media and WBD seems set to continue for the foreseeable future. So, if you're not signed up to Disney Plus but you own an HBO Max subscription – one that will carry over to Max very soon – you'll still be able to watch one of the best movies of 2022 from the comfort of your own home. Just make sure you're stacked up on snacks and plan your bathroom breaks, because The Way of Water's three hour-plus runtime demands it.

For more Avatar 2-based coverage, read our exclusive on  the truth behind that viral Avatar: The Way of Water hand shot. Additionally, find out how Avatar 2 animators tricked James Cameron into believing some shots were practical, or learn where we rank The Way of Water in our best James Cameron movies guide.

Disney has announced the blockbuster hit movie Avatar: The Way of Water will be available for digital streaming purchase March 28 in the US (April 4 in the UK). That should be good news for those who didn’t have an opportunity to catch the Oscar-nominated movie in theaters, or did catch it and want to revisit Pandora, with its eco-conscious inhabitants and soulful, communicative sea creatures.

As expected, the Disney home video release will be in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos, meaning it should look and sound great when viewed on the best TVs and best soundbars. But will it really look great? That’s something I’ve been wondering following the Disney announcement, which didn’t confirm any release date for a 4K Blu-ray version of the movie.

Avatar: The Way of Water is one of the most technologically advanced films ever produced. The reason why 13 years elapsed between the original Avatar and its sequel is that James Cameron is a painstakingly detail-oriented director, and he seeks out and also develops new processes to bring his vision to the screen rather than relying on available technology. 

One of the technologies used in the production of Avatar: The Way of Water is high frame rate (HFR). And while high frame rate cinema isn’t new – films including Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) was shot in that format – Avatar: The Way of Water uses Pixelworks’ TrueCut Motion, a fresh take on HFR tech that lets creators “motion grade” movies in post-production by varying frame rates on a shot-by-shot basis, and it also provides tools to adjust blur and judder angles.

The Hobbit was widely considered to be an HFR failure – viewers appreciated the visual crispness of the film, which was shot and projected at 48 frames-per-second, but found that its fast motion scenes had an uncomfortable “video-like” look. Avatar: The Way of Water, in contrast, is an HFR triumph. Seeing it laser-projected in motion-graded HFR and 3D in my local IMAX theater, the film’s abundant action scenes looked wonderfully crisp, and there was none of the video-like quality that ruined The Hobbit for me and many others.

Disney’s digital Avatar: The Way of Water release will not be in 3D, though I’d hope any future physical media release would include a Blu-ray 3D disc version. James Cameron is one of the few directors who actually uses 3D in a creative and effective way, and 3D cinematography brings many scenes in both the original Avatar and its sequel vividly to life.

The company’s press release also curiously doesn’t mention high dynamic range support, Dolby Vision or otherwise, for the digital Avatar: The Way of Water that will go on sale later this month.

As for HFR, although that’s technically possible within the existing streaming ecosystem, the version that we’ll be getting isn’t likely to be 48fps. A clear indicator why that’s the case comes from a comment made by Kim Beresford, vp integrated planning and motion pictures operations at Walt Disney Studio, at the Hollywood Professional Association Tech Retreat in February. According to a post in The Holllywood Reporter, when questioned about the possibility of an HFR digital release, Beresford replied, “I think there are roadmaps … even if that might not be available today.”

Avatar watered-down… and possibly a wash 

An Avatar: The Way of Water with no 3D, no motion-graded HFR, and possibly even no HDR – is that even worth watching at all? Many people did see the Avatar sequel in theaters without those cinematic extras (the The Hollywood Reporter post noted that there were a “whopping 1,065 unique delivery versions of the movie,” with “combinations of 2D, 3D, HDR, 4K, varying light levels, aspect ratios, a high frame rate of 48 frames per second, a range of audio formats”). But there’s a big difference between viewing movies in theaters and at home.

IMAX and Dolby Cinema theaters excepted, a typical movie venue puts out a significantly dimmer image than what a recent-model TV is capable of. On such dim screens, the judder artifacts that accompany films shot at 24 frames-per-second, something that HFR serves to reduce, will be less noticeable. 

But screens with high brightness serve to emphasize motion judder. That’s one of the reasons why a Filmmaker Mode gets implemented in some TVs – the judder-reducing motion interpolation processing that set makers apply as a default in other, brighter picture presets makes movies look like daytime soap operas (or like the The Hobbit projected at 48fps), and the Hollywood filmmakers don’t want that. 

Filmmaker mode removes all motion interpolation and also reduces picture brightness, making pictures look significantly dimmer. And while I’m speculating here, in the case of Disney’s digital release of Avatar: The Way of Water, that’s the way you’re going to want to view it, because with no motion-graded HFR, the film’s many fast-action sequences are likely to be filled with visual judder.

Of course, this is all film and tech nerd stuff I’m talking about. If you want to see Avatar: The Way of Water and are unable to catch it in a theater, by all means stream it when the digital release hits on March 28. It’s a great film, and deserving of its Best Picture Oscars nomination. But for me, it’s also one that’s best experienced in a theater with 3D, HFR, and extra-bright laser projection. I can’t imagine seeing it any other way, in a theater or otherwise. Maybe Apple's new Vision Pro headset, which can stream movies and does support 3D, will be the best way to watch Avatar 2 at home.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water

Much has been made of the downright jaw-dropping technical wizardry on display in Avatar: The Way of Water, and it’s hard to argue against director James Cameron’s decision to wait over a decade for the appropriate filmmaking technology to arrive before commencing work on his subaquatic sequel. 

In an exclusive interview with TechRadar, Daniel Barrett, Senior Animation Supervisor at Wētā FX, explained the method behind the magic of The Way of Water’s bar-raising performance capture visuals, and we asked the seasoned animator how he and his team pulled off a very specific shot – one that sent the internet into raptures following its inclusion in the film’s very first trailer. Check it out via the tweet below. 

“It's nearly human,” reads one comment underneath the post. “It could just be a guy painted blue,” reads another. The best response of all: “Pretty sure it isn’t CGI. Cameron actually went to Pandora to film this one.”

For context, the shot in question shows Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully tightening the reins on a skimwing, the Metkayina clan’s sea-dwelling version of the mountain banshees ridden by the Omaticaya. But how much – if any – of what we see in the two-second clip is real, and how much is down to VFX software? Thankfully, Barrett has the answers. 

“We shot that practically,” he explains. “At the time, there was talk about whether that shot was going to be [used for] reference, or whether it was going to be in the film. It looked really good, what had been done – but it was just the hand that was practical. So we had the challenge of connecting that hand, mid-arm, to a CG arm, which was connected to a CG body, which was sitting on a CG skimwing. And then we had some practical water as well that then had to connect to CG water. So it's a mix. The hand and water surrounding [the shot] is practical. The rest is digital.”

CG water? No wonder Cameron’s sequel needed to surpass $2 billion just to break even. 

A different kind of challenge

Caution: major spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water follow

For Wētā FX – the New Zealand-based visual effects company founded by The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson in 1993 – Avatar: The Way of Water represented the ultimate challenge. Animators like Barrett had to draw on all their experience to clear the impossibly high bar set by Cameron, whose extensive use of underwater performance capture techniques presented entirely new VFX obstacles. 

Were there any particular sequences that struck the fear of Toruk into Barrett and his team? “Technically, there were certain water shots that did worry me,” he tells us. “A lot of the boat shots were a concern, just because we knew we were in a parallel workflow with the effects tem. You can do your work, you hope the water surface stays as it is, you hope the wave phase remains as it was when you started animating. But then you also know that that needs to be simulated, and the simulation of the water now affects the boat’s surroundings. You can end up in a little bit of a loop. So a lot of the boat shots [were challenging].”

“There were also some huge scenes,” Barrett continues. “The return of the Tulkun to the village – there was an awful lot going on in those shots. But personally for me, one of the harder sequences to work on – and I don’t want to get too soppy – was [Neteyam’s] death on the rock. I found that really difficult. By the time I saw it in the cinema, I was somewhat immune to it. But the first 20 times were very, very difficult to watch. 

“The performances are just so strong. Take Zoe [Saldaña] as an example. It’s not even just the raw emotion you see in her at the beginning. Later, when Jake implores her to do what’s needed for the other children, you see her resolve arrive. The grief never leaves, but the resolve arrives, and it’s so subtle. 

“So for me [as an animator], it’s an exhilarating thing to get to the point where you feel like you’ve found everything that she did. Those more subtle shots are really the most satisfying moments.”

Avatar: The Way of Water is now playing in theaters worldwide. 

Much of Avatar: The Way of Water’s rub-your-eyes-in-disbelief magic stems from its ability to convincingly blur the practical and the digital – and the animators at Wētā FX did such a good job in that department that director James Cameron was often duped into approving entirely computer-generated shots. 

In an exclusive interview with TechRadar, Daniel Barrett, Senior Animation Supervisor at the New Zealand-based visual effects company, revealed that he and his team were sometimes forced to side-step Cameron’s desire to keep things as practical as possible in order to maintain the realism of certain shots. 

“There’s a lot of interaction between [Na’vi] characters and Spider [played by Jack Champion] in The Way of Water,” Barrett explains, “and getting the kind of contact accuracy that you need in a stereoscopic film can be a real challenge. The planning on set was done to such a high level that many of those shots worked. But there were also times [when they didn’t]. 

“If you think of those shots where Quaritch is carrying Spider to the drop zone – that was all shot practically, but we realized pretty quickly that there were elements of Jack’s body that we needed to replace with a digital one to make sure we could get all of that contact done. Our digital doubles got to a really high level. We had plenty of situations on the film where we tricked Jim [Cameron] – where he thought we were practical, and we were in fact digital.

“We would make the decision: which is the path of least resistance to give Jim back his plate exactly as he shot it? And sometimes the savings were too great not to go digital [...] But obviously there was still a lot of work to be done there. For the camera team to create matchmoves that are accurate enough to hold up in 3D movies, there’s a real challenge in that. And they did amazing work on this film to reconcile some of those situations for us.” 

Animation 101 with Wētā FX 

As someone whose team was “largely responsible for everything that moves” in The Way of Water, Barrett is among the few people who can give an informed answer to the question: how the heck did Cameron pull this off? 

If you’ve seen any of the film’s behind-the-scenes featurettes, you’ll know that the processes involved in bringing the entirely fictional world of Pandora to life on screen must have been mind-bogglingly complex. So, naturally, we asked Barrett to explain – in layman's terms – how Wētā turned the likes of Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis into 10-foot, water-dwelling Na'vi.

“The way we broke it up,” he begins, “there were certain teams for certain sequences, but we also have specialist artists. So, for instance, we have a facial team, who did the lion's share of the facial work, and they sit as a separate department. We have a motion edit team whose starting point is the performance capture data – obviously, they did a huge amount of work on this film. Then we have the animation team, who do a little bit of everything – they’re responsible for all the creatures, vehicles and things like that. And we also have a crowds team, who deal with the bigger crowd [animations], whether it's fish or birds or Metkayina at a village. So all of those groups of people, in those departments from what we call the motion realm, totalled about 150 at our peak.

“So the motion capture is captured – the bulk of that was done at Lightstorm [studios] – and [the footage] is then selected by Jim, whatever he likes,” Barrett continues. “Then it’ll be turned over to Wētā, where it comes through the motion capture team. The data tracking is done at Lightstorm, but we like to re-track it to make sure we maintain all the fidelity and detail of the performances. That will then go through to the motion edit team, who begin work on the bodies – and there’s sometimes a bit of cleanup involved in that [stage]. The motion edit team – also sometimes the animation team – will deal with the bits and pieces that you don’t get to capture," Barrett explains, giving Na’vi fingers and tails as examples.

“We like the bodies to be pretty much done before we move to facials – and on that note, there’s a huge amount of attention paid to what the head is doing, because your facial animation will fall over if you don’t have a very accurate version of the performance. Once that’s done, we move to facial [animations] – although sometimes, if we realize we’ve missed something with the head, we have to push it back one step. And that’s pretty much the process for performance capture, [with regards] to the motion team.

“Obviously, beyond us,” Barrett adds, “there’s an awful lot of work done prior in terms of the models, the rigging of the characters, the shading and the textures. But once the motion is there, the footage goes through the creatures team, who simulate cloth, costume and hair. And then of course we’ve got a very clever lighting team who work their magic, which is always such a wonderful thing. To see these characters finally rendered… oh, it’s just such a thrill. To have been working on something that looks a little cartoony and then see something that looks like the real thing. It’s such a pleasure, such a gift.”

Judging by The Way of Water’s near-$2 billion global box office receipts, audiences are enjoying the pleasure, too. 

Avatar: The Way of Water is now playing in theaters worldwide. 

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is out now, offering up an open-world action game in the vein of the Far Cry series. It's set between the first and second movies, and allows players to use a huge suite of weapons.

We've now played Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, and you can check out our thoughts as part of our Avatar Frontiers of Pandora review..

Here's what you need to know about the game, including a look at gameplay, the latest trailers, and all the news revealed by Ubisoft. As new details emerge post-launch, this page will be updated.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora: cut to the chase

• What is it? A game set in the world of James Cameron’s Avatar movies
• When did it come out? Out now!
• What can I play it on? PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Amazon Luna

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora release date and platforms

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora was released on December 7, 2023.

It launched for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, and Amazon Luna.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora trailers

The latest trailer for Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is the World Premiere trailer that debuted during Ubisoft Forward 2023. It gave us a look at more gameplay, but more importantly set the scene as to what the game will be about when it launches. Check it out below:

We've included some key trailers for Avatar Frontiers of Pandora throughout this article. To see every trailer released for the game so far, be sure to visit Ubisoft's official YouTube channel.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora gameplay

From the gameplay trailer embedded above, there's plenty to dig into in terms of how Avatar Frontiers of Pandora will play. For starters, the game features a mix of first-person and third-person action. Things are first-person when on foot, but switches to third-person when riding mounts or vehicles.

Players will play as a Na'vi, and as such will have heightened agility and movement options. Both human and Na'vi weapons are shown off in the trailers, so it looks as though you'll be able to switch between the two depending on the situation. 

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is an open-world action game, looking very similar to Far Cry in terms of its gameplay and mission structure. The world of Pandora can be explored on foot or in vehicles/on mounts, and is filled with flora, fauna and enemy combatants. Vines, and gliding animals allow for quick traversal, and it looks as though there will be light stealth mechanics to dig into as well. Expect side quests alongside the main campaign, as you drive back the RDA and free groups of Na'vi all across Pandora.

There are different regions to explore, each with their own biome. There's a lush rainforest, a region of floating mountains, as well as more open areas. You'll get to bond with your very own flying companion, and can then feed and care for them. The Upper Plains is an expansive grasslands inhabited with giant beasts. It's here where you'll learn how to ride horses. It seems that each region is home to its own tribe, and fauna.

As you play, you will take on RDA encampments, saving animals and Na'vi as you go. By marking enemies, you can identify weak points, then set up traps and explosives to clear groups. Destroying RDA facilities will remove pollution and Pandora will steadily heal, filling up with new resources. 

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora story and setting

The official site for Avatar Frontiers of Pandora describes it as a "first-person action adventure" that's set in an "immersive, open world". The description also states that the game will take players into a "standalone story" where they'll "play as a Na’vi and embark on a journey across the Western Frontier, a never-before-seen part of Pandora". 

From the most recent trailer, it also looks like Pandora’s native Na’vi will take on the RDA, like in the film, who threaten to destroy their world and have significant armed tech at their disposal. This trailer shows RDA helicopters on the warpath, trying to destroy a Na’vi. The Na’vi jumps on a Great Leonopteryx, firing arrows at the helicopter, before a final arrow fixed with an explosive device hits the vehicle, which then bursts into flames. 

You play as a Na'vi who is captured as a child and trained by the RDA to fight your own kin. After a huge battle on the compound where you're being trained, you are hidden in cryogenic sleep for 15 years. After a long sleep, you wake up, and must fight against the RDA to free your people.

In terms of story, this appears to be a very straightforward tale of a Na'vi trained in human technology, who then fights back against the RDA. This is very similar to what we've seen in the films, but perhaps there will be some surprises along the way. At the very least, this is a different group of Na'vi, in a different region of Pandora.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora news

James Cameron shares his thoughts on Frontiers of Pandora
James Cameron revealed his thoughts on Ubisoft's upcoming game during an IGN interview in 2022. Confirming he's taking a hands-off approach, he explained: 

"We're very excited about what Ubisoft is doing with their game authoring. I don’t tell them what to do — they know their world, their business, their market. We just keep a close eye that they don’t do anything that’s not canonical in terms of Na’vi culture and what the RDA is doing on Pandora and all that sort of thing.”

NPCs will “understand the state of the world”
In a video showcasing the tech behind the game, the development team of Avatar discussed how the game’s NPCs will behave and react more realistically to the game’s world. In the video, Lead Narrative Realization Designer, Alice Rendell, said that “the different activities that NPCs can perform in the world, and the different animations they have, can make the world feel really alive". As a result, according to Rendell, the team "wanted to take this one step further and created a system where our NPCs understand the state of the world – for example, weather, player progression, or time of day". 

Even plant life will react in some way, with Senior technical artist Kunal Luthra explaining that “the advantage of Snowdrop is that it can handle quite complex shaders". "To add life to the vegetation of Pandora, we've created many interactive shaders that can be affected by the player, from real-time wind simulations and interactions to intelligent plants reacting to your presence," Luthra explained.

That's everything we know about Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora so far. For more on what we thought of Ubisoft's other big 2023 release, check out our Assassin's Creed Mirage review.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but the 13-year gap between James Cameron’s Avatar and its sequel, The Way of Water, has understandably left many cinemagoers at best indifferent and at worst uninterested in a return to the lush green jungles of Pandora. 

2009’s introduction to the Naʼvi and their homeworld is seared into our collective consciousness for the novelty of its 3D format and, of course, its record-breaking box office success – the film’s global receipts now total a ridiculous $2.9 billion – but less has been said in the years since about Avatar’s unrivalled ability to immerse and entertain (Quentin Tarantino famously described the experience of watching the movie as “a ride”).

No other filmmaker can draw the viewer into an on-screen adventure quite like Cameron, and no other film since Avatar has come close to delivering the sort of sustained awe that the world of Pandora elicits around every corner – until now.

Welcome (back) to the jungle

Cameron has explained away the decade-long wait for his Avatar sequel by saying it was necessary to develop new technology for shooting its underwater sequences (more on these later), but he may as well claim that the delay was a deliberate creative decision to age his Na’vi heroes in real time. 

Set some 15 years after its predecessor, The Way of Water finds Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) living a life of forest-dwelling quietude on Pandora. They now have four children – three of their own and an adopted daughter by Grace (Sigourney Weaver), whose pregnancy, we’re told, was a mystery until her after death in Avatar – and the pair serve as leaders of the Omaticaya, the Na’vi clan central to Cameron’s original story. 

Also part of the Sully clan is Spider (Jack Champion), a human boy who lives among the Na’vi because he was too young to be shipped back to Earth following the departure of the  ‘sky people’ a decade earlier (he’s described in the film’s opening moments as a “stray cat”, which says something of the underlying hostility the Na’vi still hold toward non-natives). 

Plenty more new faces are introduced throughout The Way of Water’s three-hour runtime, and given that almost all of them belong the Na’vi, Cameron is quick to point out that most of the film’s dialogue is spoken in the Naʼvi language, despite sounding English to our ears (Jake’s scene-setting monologue includes a smart explanation as to why that is). 

It’s impressive how light-touch this exposition feels considering the gap between visits to Pandora. Cameron bets on our immediate familiarity with the Naʼvi, the Omaticaya, Pandora, and its wildlife by throwing us straight back into the jungle with only a few brief moments of memory-jogging, and it doesn’t take long before The Way of Water has us strapped in and ready to fly alongside the mountain banshees for a new adventure. 

The film’s dramatic location change comes by way of a familiar threat. Without wishing to stray too far into spoiler territory, the ‘sky people’ return to Pandora with a mission to make its biosphere hospitable for humans. Earth has (surprise!) been ravaged by centuries of neglect, so mining is out and colonization is in – and certain members of the human race also happen to have a real grudge against marine-turned-Na’vi-native Jake Sully. 

Long story short: the Sully clan are forced to seek safety in the faraway regions of Pandora. They settle on a crop of Caribbean-esque islands that are home to the Metkayina, or reef people, and are permitted to take shelter among their aquatic hosts on the condition that they learn – you guessed it – the way of water. Cue the bioluminescent whales!

Fathers and sons 

Of course, a whole lot more happens in The Way of Water once Jake, Neytiri and their blue brood encounter these same-but-slightly-different Na’vi neighbors – in truth, our synopsis only retells the events of the film’s opening hour– but Cameron’s follow-up story is best experienced as blind as possible. 

Just know this: the introduction of children in The Way of Water makes for an infinitely more emotionally engaging ride than the first Avatar. Cameron knows exactly what he’s doing by throwing naive Na’vi youngsters into the fray – they’re the bait that wholeheartedly involves us in the film’s otherwise-familiar humans-are-the-bad-guys story. In the 13 years since Worthington and Saldaña played Jake and Neytiri for the first time, both actors have started families of their own, and the immense – at times crushing – responsibility of parenthood is felt in every frame of The Way of Water. “You’re fearless when you don’t have kids. But you learn fear when you do – you have something to lose”, Cameron said in the film’s press conference, and that sentiment fuels the movie’s plot right through to its downright stirring conclusion. 

So, yes: The Way of Water may well make you cry about a bunch of blue aliens. But the all-too-familiar relationships between parents and children aren’t the only parts of Cameron’s sequel that risk inducing tears. 

Ocean eyes

On a technical level, it’s hard to think of a more visually arresting motion picture than The Way of Water. This is a cinematic experience in the purest sense – one whose stills are often just as powerful as its motion-heavy sequences – and once the Sully clan touch down on the shores of the Metkayina, it becomes abundantly clear that Cameron’s spiel about waiting for the right technology was no spiel at all. 

Where the original Avatar broke new ground with innovative performance-capture techniques, The Way of Water takes the same trickery underwater to blend action and expression in ways never before seen on screen. Seriously, the visual wizardry on display here from New Zealand-based animation studio Wētā FX – the production company founded by The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson – is nothing short of remarkable. If you’re able to see The Way of Water in IMAX 3D, absolutely do so. The interaction between water and light is frequently jaw-dropping; sea creatures zip across the screen with power and grace, sand dampens when touched by waves, and surface ripples distort images as they do in real life. In one scene, Sully’s second-oldest son, Lo’ak, encounters a supposedly fearsome whale, and the next 10 minutes are almost spiritually beautiful to behold. 

The Na’vi, too, never look less than utterly convincing. Even when characters aren’t speaking to one another through verbal dialogue, there's a perceptible nuance in the eyes and facial expressions of the actors behind them. Pupils contract, muscles twitch and hair – my gosh, the hair! – dances in the water like the tentacles of a solitary sea anemone. Not everything works to perfection. In a movie as heavily reliant on CGI as this, the occasional dodgy texture stands out like a big blue Na’vi thumb, and some vehicle animations come off as a little too video game-like. But for the most part, it is honestly hard to distinguish between the practical and the computer-generated in The Way of Water. Cameron’s enthusiasm for this new form of motion capture technology is absolutely vindicated. 

A huge amount of praise must also go to the film’s composer, Simon Franglen, who took on the responsibility of scoring The Way of Water solo after the passing of original Avatar maestro (and frequent Cameron collaborator) James Horner in 2016. Michael Giacchino (The Batman) and Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) have a fight on their hands for next year's Best Original Score Oscar. 

Our verdict

Despite its many triumphs, The Way of Water is not a flawless movie. Saldaña’s Neytiri gets disappointingly little screen time until her shoot-the-pilot-in-the-cockpit skills are needed, and the film’s third act – which is more action packed than a Michael Bay-directed car chase – feels a touch too familiar.

But once you’ve seen a teenage alien visibly blush at the sight of a new love interest, or a superpowered eel perform a somersault against the backdrop of a Pandora sunset, or an extraterrestrial jellyfish field illuminate a deep sea canyon, it becomes difficult to care about earthly filmmaking gripes that might otherwise bring the experience of watching The Way of Water down. Cameron has here crafted a hypnotic aquarium of a movie – an all-encompassing journey to another world that can only be described in hyperbolic terms.

As the follow-up to one of the most groundbreaking films of recent decades, The Way of Water was never going to deliver anything close to the same cultural sucker punch as 2009’s inaugural journey to Pandora – but it does a damn good job of reminding us all why movies exist in the first place.

Avatar: The Way of Water releases exclusively in theaters on December 16. 

The best James Cameron movies represent some of the most iconic, successful and boundary-pushing films ever made. Not only do James Cameron movies occupy three of the top four spots in the all-time box office list, including Titanic and the first two Avatar movies, but films like The Terminator and Aliens are among the best science-fiction movies of all time thanks to their smart writing, unforgettable action sequences and deeply compelling stories. 

In our guide below we’ve included all of the best James Cameron movies, from his first flick Piranha II: The Spawning (1982) to his latest film, Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) and ranked them from worst to best, so you know which are worth your time. We’ve also included where you can watch them all on the best streaming services, so if you’re looking for a tense, action-packed film this weekend, you’re in the right place. 

9. Piranha II: The Spawning (1982)

Where to stream: To rent on Apple TV and Prime Video (US, UK, Australia)
Release date: 1982
Age rating: R (US), 18 (UK), M (Australia)
Runtime: 84 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 5%

Everybody has to start somewhere. But don’t beat yourself up if you’ve never seen James Cameron’s feature debut Piranha II: The Spawning, because even the director himself has spent much of his career distancing himself from this soggy disaster.

How much of this sequel – to Roger Corman-produced Jaws spoof Piranha – is a genuine Cameron movie is debatable considering the film’s very hands-on producer fired him after two-and-a-half weeks on the job. The Spawning II remains notable, however, as the first time Cameron worked with regular collaborator Lance Henriksen, who’d later go on to save the day as kindly android Bishop in Aliens. Even so, this debut outing is more valuable as a piece of trivia than as a viewing experience.

8. True Lies (1994)

Where to stream: Hulu (US), Disney Plus (UK), Disney Plus, Foxtel Now (Australia)
Release date: 1994
Age rating: R (US), 15 (UK), M (Australia)
Runtime: 141 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%

Many of Hollywood’s most successful directors have tried to live their best James Bond life on screen. So, just as Steven Spielberg had Indiana Jones, Michael Bay had The Rock, and Christopher Nolan had Inception, Cameron made his own 007 aspirations come true with True Lies. Sadly, the results are not entirely successful in this tonally uneven spy comedy.

The action set-pieces are every bit as spectacular as you’d expect from Cameron, as he maxes out his considerable budget on firearms, vehicles (including a Harrier jump jet), and other forms of high-octane carnage. Nonetheless, Arnold Schwarzenegger never quite convinces as an agent so secret his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) has no idea about his career in espionage. Meanwhile, the film’s tone-deaf treatment of both its female and Middle Eastern characters feels crass and outdated when watching today.

7. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Where to stream: Disney Plus (worldwide)
Release date: 2022
Age rating: PG-13 (US), 12-A (UK), M (Australia)
Runtime: 192 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%

If there's one certainty in Hollywood it's that nobody should ever bet against James Cameron. Ahead of the Avatar sequel's arrival in theaters, many questioned whether audiences still had an appetite for a return to the world of Pandora and its luscious 3D environments, but they needn't have worried – over $2 billion in ticket sales later, The Way of Water is sitting pretty in third place on the all-time box-office chart.

While Cameron's still got the Midas touch when it comes to enticing people into theaters, The Way of Water is a less accomplished movie than its predecessor. On a technical level it's still light years ahead of the competition, as the director takes the action underwater, and delivers spectacular set-pieces that feel like callbacks to Aliens and Titanic. But the storytelling beats are less assured, as the narrative baton shifts to Jake and Neytiri's kids, and swimming lessons with a new Na'vi clan, the Metkayina, become a priority.

6. Titanic (1997)

Where to stream: Prime Video, Paramount Plus, Fubo TV (US), Disney Plus (UK), Disney Plus, Foxtel Now (Australia)
Release date: 1997
Age rating: PG-13 (US), 12 (UK), M (Australia)
Runtime: 195 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

With its original launch date delayed and its budget swelling to record-breaking proportions, Titanic was the talk of Hollywood ahead of its 1997 release – for all the wrong reasons. That Cameron went on to prove the naysayers wrong is a matter of history – 11 Oscar wins and more than a decade at the top of the all-time box-office charts are proof of that. 

But the film's also a testament to his ability to marshal big scenes without ever losing sight of his story. It’s after the ship’s infamous collision with the iceberg that Cameron comes into his own, as he reminds the world groundbreaking visuals aren’t solely the preserve of popcorn actioners. Unfortunately, the human characters never really find their sea legs, with Jack and Rose (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) – a nautical Romeo and Juliet if ever we've seen a pair – coming over a little too Mills & Boon. Equally, Billy Zane’s caddish Cal is way too arch to convince as an actual human being.

5. The Abyss (1989)

Where to stream: Hulu (US)
Release date: 1989
Age rating: PG-13 (US), 15 (UK), M (Australia)
Runtime: 140 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

Sandwiched between the genre-defining Aliens and Terminator 2, The Abyss often feels like the forgotten movie in Cameron’s early filmography. That’s a little unfair, seeing as this deep-sea adventure boasts a typically ambitious story involving late-Cold War paranoia, impressive hardware, and some beautifully realized underwater NTIs (Non-Terrestrial Intelligence).

Eight years before he made Titanic, Cameron was defying conventional Hollywood wisdom that shooting on water was a bad idea – the model work and set design still stands up today – while the film’s living water tentacle laid the CG groundwork for the T-1000 in Terminator 2. As with T2 and Aliens, The Abyss is best viewed in its extended version, which adds extra depth to the theatrical cut.

4. Avatar (2009)

Where to stream: Disney Plus (worldwide)
Release date: 2009
Age rating: PG-13 (US), 12A (UK), M (Australia)
Runtime: 162 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

When you’ve proclaimed yourself the king of the world (as Cameron did at the 1998 Oscars), there’s no need to rush back behind the camera. Avatar landed more than 12 years after Titanic, but Cameron’s trip to the lush forests of Pandora proved he’d spent the intervening decade pushing cinema beyond its limits.

Combining state-of-the-art performance capture with yet-to-be-bettered 3D visuals, Cameron made millions of cinemagoers believe he’d opened a window to a living, breathing alien world. 

In the process he broke the box-office record he’d previously set with Titanic. In recent years it’s become fashionable to bash Avatar for its simplistic Romeo and Juliet-meets-environmental activism plot, but it remains a masterful piece of visual storytelling. Also, Stephen Lang’s no-nonsense Colonel Quaritch is one of sci-fi’s great villains.

3. The Terminator (1984)

Where to stream: Fubo TV, MGM+, AMC+, Hoopla, Pluto TV, BBC America (US), MGM+ (UK), Prime Video (Australia)
Release date: 1984
Age rating: R (US), 18 (UK), R (Australia)
Runtime: 107 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

Cameron’s de facto debut established him as one of the hottest properties in Hollywood, as well as launching the highly lucrative Terminator franchise and setting Arnold Schwarzenegger on the path to superstardom.

The bodybuilder-turned-actor has arguably never been better than he is as a ruthless cyborg killing machine, sent from the future by a sentient computer determined to assassinate humanity’s savior, John Connor, before he’s even been born. 

It's Cameron’s direction that proves to be the real star, though, as he fashions a taut, ruthlessly efficient rollercoaster of thrills as Connor’s unwitting mom, Sarah (Linda Hamilton), does everything she can to evade her would-be assassin. The effects have, inevitably, dated slightly, but The Terminator remains a stone-cold classic.

2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Where to stream: Fubo Tv, Paramount+, AMC+, FX Now, BBC America (US), Sky (UK), Prime Video, Binge, Foxtel Now, Stan (Australia)
Release date: 1991
Age rating: R (US), 15 (UK), M (Australia)
Runtime: 137 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

It’s almost impossible to choose between the first two Terminator movies. This is a sequel so seamlessly intertwined with its predecessor that you can no longer imagine one existing without the other.

However, by 1991, Schwarzenegger – now the biggest movie star on the planet – wasn’t in the habit of playing villains, so Cameron reinvented his Terminator as the protector of the young John Connor (Edward Furlong). This created a vacancy for a new antagonist, and Cameron subsequently turned Robert Patrick’s liquid metal T-1000 into the ultimate calling card for Industrial Light and Magic’s nascent CG effects.

T2 was never just about the tech, though, because Cameron upped the ante on the action and the emotional stakes, with Sarah Connor (now an action hero in her own right) out to pull the plug on malevolent AI Skynet. None of the four Terminator movies (and TV show) that followed have come close to emulating the two Cameron classics that started it all. Simply put, it's one of the best Terminator movies ever.

1. Aliens (1986)

Where to stream: Max, Starz (US), Disney Plus (UK), Disney Plus (Australia)
Release date: 1986
Age rating: R (US), 85 (UK), M (Australia)
Runtime: 137 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

A contender for the titles of greatest action movie and greatest sequel of all time, the only reason Aliens isn’t also expected to feature highly in our best Alien movies guide is that Ridley Scott’s original movie had already written the rulebook on sci-fi horror. 

Remarkably, those high stakes didn’t affect Cameron at all, as he crafted a story that stays faithful to the original’s mythology while expanding it in inventive new directions. As Ellen Ripley (an Oscar-nominated, never-better Sigourney Weaver) returns to LV-426 on a mission to save terraforming colonists from their problematic, acid-blooded neighbors, Cameron delivers a masterclass in claustrophobic, exquisitely choreographed action. 

The director’s true masterstroke, however, is telling you everything you need to know about his highly quotable platoon of Colonial Marines in mere minutes of screen time, ensuring you care about every single one when their “bug hunt” takes the inevitable turn for the worse. Nearly four decades later and nothing else in the genre has even come close.

For more 'best of' articles, check out our guides on the best Christopher Nolan movies, best Martin Scorsese movies, best Quentin Tarantino movies, and best David Fincher movies.

James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar is being remastered in high frame rate (HFR), along with his 1997 film, Titanic. That announcement comes from Pixelworks, the developers of the TrueCut Motion technology being used to transform the director’s signature blockbusters for a return to theaters.

“We’re bringing Avatar and Titanic back to the big screen, looking better in every way,” said James Cameron in a Pixelworks press release. “We will be presenting both films in 4K with high dynamic range visuals and have been working with Pixelworks’ TrueCut Motion platform to remaster the films in high frame rate, while keeping the cinematic look of the original.”

What is HFR?

To explain HFR, we first need to discuss frame rates, and how they differ between film and video formats. Motion pictures shot using both film and digital cinema cameras are captured at a 24 frames per second (fps) rate, while TV shows like news, sports, and sitcoms are shot on video at either 50 or 60 fps depending on the country.

The main benefit to displaying images at a higher refresh rate like 50 or 60 Hz is that programs like sports with plenty of fast action look more clear and detailed. That same action captured and displayed at a 24 fps rate will have much lower motion resolution, with the end result being that images look comparatively blurry, and the action less smooth. 

To address this situation for movies, filmmakers like Peter Jackson in The Hobbit, for example, boosted the camera’s frame rate to 48 fps HFR. And while the HFR version of The Hobbit got a mixed reception at the cinema (including from this writer), the motion resolution improvement it brought to that movie’s many action sequences was undeniable.

Enter TrueCut Motion technology 

TrueCut Motion technology, according to the Pixelworks release “allows filmmakers to dial in the motion, with any source frame rate, shot by shot, in post-production.” The release adds that the platform “ensures that these creative choices are delivered consistently across every screen, whether in the theater or the home.”

I caught a demo of TrueCut Motion technology put on by Pixelworks and TV-maker TCL at the CES tradeshow in early 2022. The demo gave me the chance to once again see HFR footage from The Hobbit, except this time processed using TrueCut Motion. 

The remastered HFR version The Hobbit displayed on the TCL TV looked much better than what I remembered from my theatrical experience: images retained detail in fast-action sequences, but more standard shots didn’t have the same sped-up “soap opera” effect that could look unnatural at best, and sick-making at worst.

To expand a bit on the Pixelworks press release, the tech as explained to me by the company’s reps at CES is a “motion grading” process that allows for image motion to be varied within a 48 Hz high-frame-rate (HFR) container on a scene-by-scene basis. That, in effect, makes it similar to Dolby Vision HDR grading, where the range between the deepest shadows and brightest highlights in images can be adjusted on a similar scene-by-scene basis during post-production.

TrueCut Motion on TVs?

While higher-motion resolution versions of Avatar and Titanic are clearly in the works for theaters courtesy of Pixelworks, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll get to see the same at home. 

The reason why is that TrueCut Motion technology is an end-to-end process – all components in the production and presentation chain need to support it. Even the digital cinema cameras used for movie production can be equipped with the variable motion capture tech. 

And that means your TV will also need to support TrueCut Motion. You can think of it as the movie equivalent of Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), an HDMI 2.1 feature included in newer TVs that eliminates screen “tearing” and permits smoother motion during gaming – something it does by syncing the TV’s refresh rate with the variable output of games played on next-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

The set used for the demo I caught at CES 2022 was outfitted with TrueCut Motion, so it’s obviously something that can be easily licensed and incorporated into TVs – which TCL plans to do. At the time, I thought Peter Jackson agreeing to allow The Hobbit footage to be used by Pixelworks was a good sign for the motion grading tech’s future. Now, with James Cameron fully on board, its chances of making it into the best 4K TVs is looking even better.

Recently, one of my TechRadar colleagues declared that 3D movies are dead and they need to stay dead, and while he does make some interesting points, I must disagree wholeheartedly.

The above article was, of course, largely spurred by the upcoming release of Avatar: The Way of Water, sequel to the 2009 science fiction action-adventure megahit which has so far earned more than $2.8 billion at the global box. Despite being momentarily dethroned by Avengers: Endgame, Avatar has since managed to regain and retain its spot as the highest grossing movie of all time.

Last week, I was invited to get an early look at the trailer for its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, ahead of a preview screening for Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness. 

Presented in 3D, the trailer was played on loop for half an hour, allowing me to stick around and watch it a few times. Surprisingly (for some at least), I came away from the experience excited about the prospect of see a big 3D movie at the cinema again. Here's why.

Cinemas need 3D

It's no secret that the moviegoing experience has changed significantly over the last few years. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced theaters all of over the world to close for months on end, the kind of movie that would be considered suitable for theatrical release had become more narrow by definition. 

Chances are that superhero movies and animated kids films got most of the screens at your local multiplex, while original films were given a handful of sessions per week before shuffling off to one of the various streaming services.

And while theaters have mostly returned to the way things were before the pandemic, audiences have arguably grown further away from the theatrical experience. 

Over the last couple of years, it became normal for big budget blockbusters to release first on streaming services like HBO Max and Disney Plus, and audiences got used to that kind of convenience.

Theatrical release windows may have returned, but they're shorter than ever now, meaning audiences need an even more compelling reason to leave the house to see a movie – why deal with inflated ticket prices and risk getting sick when you can simply wait 45 days?

On top of this, it's now normal to see movie-quality Marvel and Star Wars TV shows on a weekly basis, making a trip to the cinema to see a feature-length version of the same thing less of a draw than it once was. 

These reasons and more are why cinemas need 3D to make a comeback. Not only is 3D an experience you can't really get at home anymore, with TV manufacturers having abandoned the technology years ago, it also gives films back their event status – well-implemented 3D, in my opinion, can be enough of a reason to go see a movie at the theater rather than just wait a short while for its streaming release.

Don't underestimate the appeal of Avatar

Which brings us to Avatar: The Way of Water. It's a film that many have spent the last few years underestimating, mistaking the original Avatar's absence from their Twitter feed as proof that the film lacks lasting cultural appeal. 

Obviously, this is a ridiculous argument – if a film's ongoing social media presence actually proved anything, then Zack Snyder's Justice League would be the most culturally significant movie in the history of cinema!

Perhaps Avatar's absence from social media has more to do with the fact that its IP has yet to be exploited into oblivion – something which could prove hugely beneficial to its sequel. Unlike superhero movies, audiences aren't fatigued by Avatar, because there's really only been one film. Moviegoers weren't forced to keep up with countless entries in a cinematic universe in order to keep up with the plot.

Despite the cutting-edge technology that makes James Cameron's Avatar movies possible, their release strategy is refreshingly old-fashioned. Avatar: The Way of Water is simply a sequel to a movie that came out over a decade ago, one which relies on viewers' love for the original film and their memories of what it was like to see it on the big screen. Needless to say, 3D played a large part in that experience.

A reminder of a better time

As I made my way into the theater to watch the trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, I was surprised to find that the mere act of grabbing a pair of 3D glasses had filled me with nostalgia. While I can't remember what the last 3D movie I saw in a cinema was, putting these glasses on again immediately transported me back to 2009 – a time when audiences still got excited about seeing original films on the big screen. 

It was a great time to be a movie buff. Original films like Avatar, Inglourious Basterds and District 9 came out within weeks of each other and earned big at the box office. People were less concerned about which studio owned this property or that character – they just wanted to see epic stories play out on the biggest canvas possible. That some of these movies were in 3D just made the act of seeing them even more exciting.

It was also a time before streaming services. Movies had yet to be reduced to 'content' on a streaming calendar – something to be watched and then quickly forgotten. These days, people are spoilt for choice for movies to stream at home, although as discussed above, many of these streaming debuts aren't likely to inspire people to leave their homes if released theatrically.

So as I sat down to watch the watch trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water, I was reminded of how exciting it was to watch the original all those years ago, and how watching it in 3D was a game-changing experience.

Although the film's plot was hardly ground-breaking, treading much of the same ground as Pocahontas and Dances With Wolves, its presentation was truly revolutionary, inviting audiences to become fully immersed within a gorgeous alien world. While moviegoers may be split when it comes to the quality of Avatar's story, most will agree that its 3D presentation was excellent.

Watching the new trailer also made me realise that we're now far enough away from the glory days of 3D for the format to inspire nostalgia again.

People only hate bad 3D

I would be lying if I said that every experience I had watching a 3D movie at the cinema was a good one. Some were downright lousy – Fright Night 3D was one of the worst movie-going experiences I ever had, due in large part to the dark and murky film having no right to be converted into 3D in the first place.

Which brings me to my next point: while many people claim to hate seeing 3D movies at the cinema, what they really mean is that they hate paying extra to see bad 3D. 

When a movie is actually shot using proper 3D cameras and is photographed with 3D in mind, the end result is infinitely better than a film that was converted into 3D after the fact. The former is a result of filmmakers pushing the envelope of what 3D can bring to a film, while the latter is the result of greedy studios wanting to add a 3D surcharge to ticket prices. 

It's these post-converted 3D films which ruined the reputation of the format. If 3D had been reserved exclusively for the films which used it well, like Gravity, Life of Pi, How To Train Your Dragon and Alita: Battle Angel, there probably wouldn't have been a 3D backlash.

It's my opinion that 3D films will not come back in the same huge way that they did after the first Avatar – and that's absolutely a good thing. Hopefully, the release of Avatar: The Way of Water will remind people of how powerful 3D can be when done right, and will inspire directors use the technology only when it serves their vision.

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The reports of 3D glasses being handed out to journalists and movie industry types as they sat down on Wednesday (April 27) at Cinema-Con to watch the long, long-awaited first footage of James Cameron’s Avatar megasequel, Avatar: The Way Of The Water brought me out in a cold sweat. It brought back memories of a different world of going to movie theaters, one I won't be going back to. 

Cameron has taken his time over the Avatar sequel. It’ll be 13 years between films by the time The Way Of The Water is finally released, and he released Avatar into a very different world than the one we have now. 

Netflix did exist, but it would be another year before they launched their standalone streaming service and they were still primarily interested in DVDs. Hulu and Prime Video were still in their infancy, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe was just two movies old, and one of those was The Incredible Hulk. While all this was going on, Hollywood’s big players were primarily concerned with one thing: how to make as many 3D movies as possible.

Before Avatar, the movies that ended up being released in 3D were the sort that could play in darkened museum booths, wildlife spectaculars, or dinosaur adventures. But, in the months before its release, things began to ramp up. Two Harry Potter movies were retrofitted to include 3D elements and Disney began to shoot 3D animation, with Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs and Up both made with digital 3D. 

Avatar’s release, and its near three billion dollar box office gross, made everything explode. Cameron’s Avatar was immersive and like nothing you’d ever seen before. But, most of the implemented 3D technology was for cheap thrills, with pixelated axes and swords flying out of the screen, and splashes of water pretending to shower you. The trend also led to other classics movies like Top Gun and Jurassic Park being horribly retrofitted into 3D, and, in the months that followed Avatar, a large chunk of the adverts that preceded trailers also required 3D glasses. It’s one thing to watch films in 3D, it’s something else for advertisers to try and sell you cruises and bank accounts in the format.

It went beyond movies too. In the UK, Sky committed a huge amount of money to bringing soccer games to viewers in 3D. Some pub landlords, inspired by seeing Avatar, invested thousands in getting the right equipment to show drinkers images of sweating, gurning soccer players in glorious 3D.

At the end of 2010, 3D movies had earned Hollywood $6.1 billion dollars alone, almost 20% of its entire income. 3D screens were being quickly fitted into every screen and 37 3D movies were released in the US that year. Some saw the technology as a chance to push boundaries, Disney’s daring Tron sequel Tron: Legacy with its awe-inspiring graphics and giddy Daft Punk soundtrack, and Tim Burton’s gaudy Alice In Wonderland were both good examples. But the trend was already being exploited, with tiring horror franchises Saw and Resident Evil and, by the end of that year, even Jackass, all in 3D.

The numbers kept going up and it seemed like every time you logged on to book a theater ticket, you were offered the chance to see pretty much every film in 3D. I still have drawers full of 3D glasses because, accustomed to rocking up to a movie theater with just your wallet, you’d always forget to bring them and be charged £1.50 ($2) every time. Soon they were everywhere, in the dashboard of your car, chucked in bowls with sets of keys, in coat pockets. Just never with you when you actually needed them.

I found the whole thing baffling at the time, but a friend I knew who worked behind the ticket booth in a Manchester multiplex told me that it was clearly working. “You would not believe”, he said, “How many people just walk in here on a Friday night and just ask me 'What have you got in 3D?'”. Apparently they didn’t need specifics on who was in the film, what it was about, or even what genre of film it was. Simply put, just the knowledge that they could put their 3D glasses on was enough to justify the financial outlay.

It was that audience that led to studios suddenly demanding their directors convert films shot in 2D into 3D. Louis Letterier, who’d just overseen the Clash of The Titans remake, suddenly found himself forced to convert the film to 3D after Avatar’s success. It made an already bad film once, with the director describing the process as “...absolutely horrible, the 3D. Nothing was working, it was just a gimmick to steal money from the audience.”

My main gripe with the trend was it was leading to bad choices in filmmakers. Action sequences suddenly appeared that looked like the direct result of a studio note to make it sing in 3D. As well as that, the glasses were uncomfortable and gave you a nasty headache, especially in longer films. If the option to watch a film in 2D was presented, I always took it.

Somewhere in the mid-2010s, things began to tail off and the number of movies being sold in 3D went down and Sky retired its 3D option for sport in 2014. Now, it’s back where it belongs, a niche product that’s best served to hardcore fans with 3D televisions. If you’re about to book a ticket to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, you’ll have to go looking for a theater that you’ll show it to you in 3D. Counters no longer have piles of 3D glasses next to the hot dogs and soda streams.

That's how things need to stay. If Avatar: The Way Of The Water is a box office success – and, given James Cameron’s record with Titanic and Terminator II, you’d firmly expect it will be – please, Hollywood producers, don’t get any ideas. Focus on making blockbusters that command audiences to return to cinemas on the strengths of their visuals and storytelling. No more flying axes. No more headaches. And, for all that is holy, no more 3D glasses.

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It’s been more than 12 years since the release of James Cameron’s Avatar, but we’re finally hearing rumors about the ETA of a first trailer for its long-awaited sequel. 

Set to be one of the biggest new movies of 2022 – nay the decade – Avatar 2 is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 16, though we’ve seen reports suggesting we could get a first look at the sci-fi epic in tandem with the release of Doctor Strange 2 on May 6.

The Ankler's Jeff Sneider claims that Disney hopes to debut the first trailer for Avatar 2 during screenings of the upcoming Marvel movie in the hope of drumming up interest in both Disney-backed projects.

Of course, there’s been no official confirmation of the trailer date from 20th Century Studios (the subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios handling the production of Avatar 2), and a May 6 arrival would mark an unusually early look at a movie not set to release until seven months down the line. 

That being said, audiences have waited long enough for a return to Pandora. Avatar 2 has faced delays unlike any other movie in history, having originally meant to release in 2014, and it’s going to take an almighty marketing campaign to plant the movie back on the radar of moviegoers across the globe. 

What’s more, the Avatar/Marvel buddy strategy fits. Even if Sneider’s suggestion about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is off, we’d still wager that the trailer for Avatar 2 could arrive alongside another Marvel Phase 4 project, Thor: Love and Thunder, on July 8.

In either case, we’re confident we may get a first look at James Cameron’s sequel in the next few months. 

As for what we might see in a first trailer for Avatar 2, the jury is out. We know that Kate Winslet will feature in the movie alongside returnees Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, but details surrounding its plot are thin on the ground.

Being a big-budget Cameron project, though, we’re expecting big things. The 2009 original marked a groundbreaking leap for special effects, and its sequel is rumored to feature equally boundary-pushing underwater performance capture sequences.

It’s Disney’s world, we're just living in it  

It’s easy to forget that Avatar 2 now falls under the Disney umbrella. In 2019, the world famous entertainment studio completed the $71.3bn acquisition of an equally giant brand, 20th Century Fox – a move that brought franchises including Alien, Planet of the Apes and, of course, Avatar under Disney control. 

The latter is a particularly interesting case, given that Disney now owns the rights to future instalments of the highest-grossing movie of all time. To date, Avatar has raked in over $2.8 billion worldwide, and its history book supremacy has only been threatened on one occasion – by Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame in 2019 (Avatar has since been re-released and regained the number one spot).

Of course, Disney also owns Marvel Studios. That means, Titanic notwithstanding, the Walt Disney Company currently lays claim to five of the six most successful movies of all time (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home make up the latter places). 

If Avatar 2 replicates anything close to the performance of its predecessor, then, Disney is on track to further solidify its position as the dominant force in Western popular culture. 

Your move, Apple.

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It’s got to be for the best, right? The upcoming Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora game will skip past the characters and plot of the original Avatar film and its upcoming sequel, in favor of telling an all-new story.

“There was a time 15 or 20 years ago where playing the movie was something. You bought the game and played the movie,” Luigi Priore, vice president of Disney and Pixar Games, told VentureBeat in an interview. 

“Things like the classic Aladdin game on Sega Genesis. You played the film. That was popular at the time, but gamers expect more now. They want to interact with their favorite characters and worlds, but they want to play new stories and do new things with those characters and worlds."

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And so like the humans of the Avatar franchise, the developers at Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment are instead plundering that franchise’s world of Pandora for their own tale to tell.

Not that you shouldn’t expect lots of giant blue cat people of course.

"The whole idea is to have it be part of the storyline of that giant franchise on Pandora, but it’s not a 'play the movie' game. It’s an all new open world, new characters," Priore added.

"That’s why it’s called Frontiers of Pandora. It takes place on another frontier, another area of the moon of Pandora."

A wise decision

It makes sense – I wonder how many people out there can actually name a single character in Avatar? Or remember the relationships between them? Avatar had its high points, but it certainly wasn’t its on-the-nose colonial storyline. Rather, it was the otherworldly-visuals and alien flora and fauna that had us staring in awe at the screen.

The gravity-defying tropical world certainly will make a rich backdrop for a game – one that will likely sell better if an original storyline, leaning into the strengths of interactive storytelling, can be paired with it. And for fans of the original film, they’ll always have the untold number of upcoming sequels to enjoy, while newcomers to the franchise can dive in cold without much need for prior knowledge of the series. Win win.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora was a surprisingly exciting announcement at E3 2021, and though we’re skeptical about the franchise as a whole, and have only seen a heavily-directed trailer rather than gameplay of the game, we’re quietly keen to see how this shapes up. There’s no release date beyond a rough 2022 window, but expect to find the game on Windows, Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S platforms.

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Avatar is having a moment – and no, we’re not talking about James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, with its countless sequels stuck in development. We’re talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender, the acclaimed Nickelodeon cartoon series that has inspired the children’s network to create a whole production studio for Avatar content – including both TV shows and films.

Avatar is a beloved cartoon franchise, following the adventures of the eponymous 'Avatar': a being able to master all four of the elements (fire, water, wind, earth) in a world where most are able to manipulate one, or none at all.

The setting is very clearly inspired by Buddhist mythology and Chinese martial arts – a point of contention at times, given the American production studio and creative leads – and sees the Avatar attempting to bring harmony between warring nations and various powerful beings.

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Avatar Studios, as it’s called, will be headed by the franchise’s original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and appears to have a number of projects in the pipeline, even if details are currently limited so far.

The first confirmed product is an animated feature film – possibly a reboot of sorts for the franchise – rather than another TV series, but the latter seems inevitable at this point too.

The announcement came in February 2021, a good seven years after the end of The Legend of Korra, long enough that many fans had given up hope of the franchise continuing. But what exactly is coming, and what story beats could a new Avatar series or movie pick up on next?

Avatar Studios: what was announced

In a statement released by Nickelodeon, Avatar's creators wrote that: “It’s hard to believe it’s been 19 years since we created Avatar: The Last Airbender. But even after all that time, there are still many stories and time periods in Aang’s world that we are eager to bring to life. 

"We are fortunate to have an ever-growing community of passionate fans that enjoy exploring the Avatarverse as much as we do. And with this new Avatar Studios venture we have an unparalleled opportunity to develop our franchise and its storytelling on a vast scale, in myriad exciting ways and mediums. We are exceedingly grateful to Brian Robbins and Ramsey Naito for their enthusiasm and respect for the Avatar property and us as its stewards. From the start, they’ve supported our ambitious plans and created a positive, proactive environment for us. 

"We’re excited to be back at Nickelodeon where Avatar began, doing what we do best in the biggest way possible. We can’t wait to build the great teams and productions to make all of this fantasy a reality” (via ScreenRant).

New Avatar movie: what we know

We really don't know very much about the animated film already in the works at Avatar Studios. It could act as a refresher of sorts, revisiting the story of Aang before jumping off into different eras and story threads in follow-up TV series. We could also see the film act as a bridge between The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, or indeed a 'what happened next' feature following from the latter series.

As you can see, it's very speculative at this point, but we expect a mix of returning faces and new settings to capitalize on the Avatar fandom.

New Avatar series: what to expect

A new Avatar TV series would be exciting to many, being set in the same world as the original Avatar television show (which ran for three seasons) and its sequel, The Legend of Korra (four seasons).

While the original series has more of a cult following, the latter boldly jumps forward several decades in time, with far more modern technologies and cities compared to the more feudal backdrop of The Last Airbender. Any new films or TV show, then, could be set in the same time period as Aang, as Korra, or a good time after. 

With many different Avatars referred to in both series – given the Avatar is essentially reincarnated over and over again throughout history – there are a few past iterations of the character we could see a dedicated season on too. Maybe ‘The First Airbender’ would have a good ring to it?

Avatar Studios: who’s involved?

We know that the co-creators of The Last Airbender, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, will be heading up the studio. That sounds great for continuity, though we’re hoping the creative team for any future projects includes more diversity – especially East Asian writers – compared to previous seasons of the show.

Given the scope of Avatar Studios, though, DiMartino and Konietzko will be acting as co-chief creative officers rather than creative leads.

The studio will act as a subset of Nickelodeon, too, meaning that the availability of any upcoming TV shows or films on other platforms and streaming services is uncertain. It's likely that any Avatar content will end up on Paramount Plus, given Nickelodeon is a subsidiary of Paramount – and that means anyone hoping to watch the new Avatar series on Netflix may be disappointed.

Netflix subscribers will, however, have something in the world of Avatar to watch soon – but it won't be from Avatar Studios.

Avatar on Netflix: the new live-action series

Complicating things further is that Netflix is already making a live-action TV series based on The Last Airbender.

There was an ill-fated, whitewashed and universally-panned live-action movie of The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan – originally intended to be a trilogy of films, but scrapped due to the poor reviews and low profits of the first film.

Back in 2018, though, Netflix announced its own plans to turn The Last Airbender into a live-action TV series. The creators of the animated series were attached to the project, but left over creative differences – and reemerged with Avatar Studios shortly after, where it seems they'll have more control over the franchise's output.

The current status of the Netflix series is unclear, but it does still seem to be going ahead, even if there’s no slated release date as of yet.

Netflix doesn't have great form for live-action adaptations of beloved anime series either, with live-action versions of Bleach, Death Note and the like proving awkward and unnecessary remakes.

You can watch all three seasons of The Last Airbender, and all four seasons of The Legend of Korra on Netflix right now too.

• Which Netflix plan is for you?

Netflix has been working on a live-action adaptation of popular Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender since 2018. Now, though, the show has been dealt a blow, as original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have left the series after two years of involvement. 

It doesn't sound like the happiest split, either. DiMartino wrote an open letter to fans about what happened with the Netflix series. 

"In a joint announcement for the series, Netflix said that it was committed to honoring our vision for this retelling and to supporting us on creating the series. And we expressed how excited we were for the opportunity to be at the helm. Unfortunately, things did not go as we had hoped." DiMartino explains how he tried to "go with the flow" on the production, but it ultimately didn't work out. "Even an Air Nomad knows when it’s time to cut their losses and move on."

"I realized I couldn’t control the creative direction of the series, but I could control how I responded. So, I chose to leave the project. It was the hardest professional decision I’ve ever had to make, and certainly not one that I took lightly, but it was necessary for my happiness and creative integrity."

DiMartino and Konietzko cut ties with the show back in June. This part of the statement was the most damning: "And who knows? Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar has the potential to be good. It might turn out to be a show many of you end up enjoying. But what I can be certain about is that whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make."

It doesn't sound particularly cheerful as an end point for their participation, then. Netflix did respond to the news in a statement captured by Variety, which suggests the future of the TV show is still intact.

“We have complete respect and admiration for Michael and Bryan and the story that they created in the Avatar animated series... Although they have chosen to depart the live action project, we are confident in the creative team and their adaptation.”

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Why this is a blow for the series

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a pretty evergreen animated series, with new fans discovering the show all of the time, partly because it's available on Netflix in countries like the US and UK. The show originally released from 2005-2008.

The show has been adapted before, too, into a critically-slated live-action film by M Night Shyamalan back in 2010. Netflix no doubt wants to do everything to avoid a similarly negative reaction from fans – and having the original creators on-board would've been an easy way to keep fans on-side.

• What we know about The Umbrella Academy season 2

Remember Avatar, the highest-grossing movie of all time until last year, when Avengers: Endgame beat it? Three sequels are now in the works from director James Cameron, and at tech trade show CES 2020, we got our first look at our return to Pandora (you remember, the planet from the movie Avatar?). 

We'll see more of the sea life on Pandora in this sequel, which features sequences that are motion-captured underwater. We get a sample of the oceans in these four new pieces of concept art:

The first Avatar sequel arrives in December 2021, with further sequels coming in December 2023, December 2025 and December 2027. The first Avatar is available to watch now on Disney Plus.

Ava-car

Cameron was at CES in Vegas to announce an Avatar-themed partnership with Mercedes-Benz, revealing the futuristic Vision AVTR concept car. Hopefully we get to drive it in a future Gran Turismo game. Take a look below:

As with all concept cars, the Vision AVTR represents a vision of how its manufacturer sees the future of automotive design, rather than something you'll drive to your local supermarket in the near future to pick up potatoes. 

Its steering wheel is particularly sci-fi, promising to 'merge' man and machine, with the vehicle recognizing the driver based on their heartbeat and breathing patterns. The look of the car is based on creatures from Avatar's fictional universe. The seats and floor are made from sustainable materials, and the battery is recyclable, too. 

It's been a strong CES when it comes to the future of car technology, like the reveal of Sony's Vision-S vehicle, or Continental's in-car entertainment system. But this is the only vehicle that's visually inspired by fictional animals from a sci-fi universe, which gives it a certain distinction.

• 2020's biggest and best movies

• Check out all of TechRadar's CES 2020 coverage. We're live in Las Vegas to bring you all the breaking tech news and launches, plus hands-on reviews of everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops and smart home gadgets.

Another big-name movie has been added to the Disney Plus library ahead of its grand launch on November 12: James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar.

If you sign up for Disney Plus on or before launch day, you'll be able to start streaming the tale of the Na'vi people and their home planet of Pandora straight away, and the film's inclusion might just be enough to tempt you into subscribing.

Famous for its big budget, and cutting-edge special effects, and huge box office takings – it was the highest-grossing movie of all time for a decade – Avatar is also a very long flick, clocking in at 2 hours and 41 minutes.

• One Disney show has been canned
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The movie is still waiting for a sequel, though principal filming has now finished on both Avatar 2 (due to be released in 2021) and Avatar 3 (due to be released in 2023).

That November 12 launch for Disney Plus only applies to the US, Canada, and the Netherlands. Australia and New Zealand follow on November 19. We're expecting the service to spread out into other countries, but we're not exactly sure when.

Avatar is going to join a whole host of content available on Disney Plus when it goes live, with plenty more in the way of shows and movies getting added over time as well.

On the movie front, you're going to be able to watch most of the Star Wars and Marvel films released to date, as well as all those classic animated Disney Movies. TV show content will include The Mandalorian, an original series set in the Star Wars universe.

A Disney Plus subscription will cost you $6.99 per month in the US, $8.99 per month in Australia and Canada, $9.99 in New Zealand, and €6.99 in the Netherlands.

• Here's everything that we know about Disney Plus so far

If four new films set in the Avatar universe weren’t already enough, Ubisoft is partnering with James Cameron’s film studio and Fox Interactive to create a new Avatar game.  

Announced today at GDC 2017, Ubisoft says that the upcoming project will “expand and deepen in the Avatar universe in exciting and innovative ways along with the films” ... though, after five films, a theme park, a graphic novel adaptation, a previous Ubisoft-made video game and a few mobile apps, it’s hard to imagine the series expanding anymore. 

The game is set to be developed by Massive Entertainment, a Ubisoft-owned studio that some may recognize for its work on 2016’s The Division, but has also worked on Far Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. Like The Division, the game will use Ubisoft's proprietary Snowdrop Engine, which apparently really impressed the award-winning film director.

"With the power of Massive's Snowdrop game engine, and with the team's passion and obsessive focus on detail, we know they're the right group to bring the beauty and danger of Pandora to life," Cameron says in the game’s announcement trailer. That’s high praise – but that’s also coming from the guy who says the Avatar sequels will make you soil yourself while smiling. 

Skeptical? Watch the announcement trailer for yourself down below.

• Want more from GDC 2017? Check out these 9 upcoming games that Oculus hopes will justify your Rift purchase

This is an old interview that has been republished for techradar's Movie Week.

To coincide with the launch of Titanic 3D in the UK and US, TechRadar presents its exclusive James Cameron interview it got with the director back in late 2011. In it he talks about the making of Titanic and why post-converting 3D is one of the toughest things he's ever had to do...

James Cameron is the biggest advocate for 3D working in Hollywood today.

His hit movie Avatar kick-started a new wave of 3D movie-making, using techniques and technology that proved 3D could move beyond being a gimmick.

Although it wasn't to some critics' tastes, the numbers do not lie. Not only is Avatar the best-grossing 3D movie ever made, it is the best-grossing movie ever made.

The key to Avatar's success was that Cameron put 3D at the forefront of the film-making process, and he is now building a business out of offering his insight (and equipment) to other film-makers.

Cameron and the BBC

The fruits of this could be seen at this year's IBC (International Broadcasting Convention), where the Cameron | Pace group, which he runs with co-chairman and cinematographer Vince Pace, announced it would be working with the BBC on a feature film of Walking With Dinosaurs, as well as announcing that Evergreen Films will be the first company with Cameron | Pace certification.

"It's a theatrical motion picture so it will be in the IMAX in the UK and in digital 3D," said Cameron to TechRadar when we met up with him at IBC for an extensive chat on all things 3D.

"We had a very good meeting with the BBC here, where we said we could be doing all kinds of things together."

Walking With Dinosaurs is the biggest 3D production the BBC has undertaken, so it's good that the broadcaster has decided to do it under the tutelage of Cameron, who believes the Beeb needs to increase its 3D output.

DO THE DINOSAUR: Cameron will be working with the BBC

"The BBC has held back a little bit with 3D, where as BSkyB has jumped in and ESPN has jumped in.

"The point I made to the head of BBC was that you can't hold back indefinitely.

"You have to muscle in on this; you have to learn how to do this. This is what broadcasters are starting to wake up to, that 3D is going to happen."

Although the BBC has only taken tentative steps into 3D production – as seen in this year's Wimbledon finals – Cameron does believe that the UK is well equipped for 3D and in some ways leading the way.

"The UK isn't waiting for a massive install base of 3D sets in the home; Sky is going for the sports bars and the pubs.

"That is a very creative solution and is one that can work all around the world."

A new 3D standard

One of the ways Cameron is setting out to improve 3D is to offer up the Cameron | Pace name to productions that use the company's technologies. Like THX before it, it's set to become a symbol to consumers that the 3D in the movie they are about to watch is the best it possibly can be.

PACE OF LIFE: The Cameron | Pace group hopes to bring quality to 3D

But with the sales of 3D TVs not exactly setting the economic world on fire, Cameron understands that it sometimes quality isn't enough, you have to offer quantity as well.

"We care about the quality of 3D, so we are looking to constantly improve it. But for the general public, the biggest improvement we can make for them is to give them more stuff.

"They just want more stuff so when they do purchase their 3D TV set, they want to make sure that there is some programming to justify it."

3D TV should be cheaper

Alongside programming, the cost of installing 3D into your home is something else that needs to improve. Cameron believes that the introduction of passive glasses into the home could be key to mass adoption.

"Instead of having to pay a premium at the cinema, the general public have to fork out on the glasses which are expensive," said Cameron to TechRadar.

"Passive glasses are here and the quality is improving all the time. The fact that they are throwaway means this technology could be critical."

3D TALK: James Cameron with his cinematographer Vince Pace

Sitting down with Cameron it is clear to see that 3D isn't just a passion for the director, it is what he is fully focused on career-wise, so much so that it's hard to see him releasing a movie again without using the technology.

Filming in 3D "never gets old"

"Vince [Pace] and I have been involved in so much 3D photography – we love it, it never gets old for us.

"When we shot the recent Cirque du Soleil film back in December, we were in the truck looking at the images and saying to each other: 'Look at that! That's great!' We're kind of like kids.

"In a way, though, I think we should look forward to 3D when it is less remarkable. In the same way we don't talk about how great the colour is on our TV sets any more or how great the colour is in a movie.

"We need to get to that point of equilibrium, where the tail isn't wagging the dog."

AVATAR: The second instalment will use high frame rate cameras

Unfortunately, since the launch of Avatar there's been a number of movies that have sullied the 3D format – one of which, according to Cameron, was Piranha 3D, a franchise that is linked to the director's early days as a film-maker.

Cameron's first directorial gig was on Piranha Part Two: The Spawning. The franchise was given a tongue-and-cheek 3D remake in 2010 by director Alandre Aja and has spawned the brilliantly titled sequel Piranha 3DD, but Cameron was less than impressed with the results.

"When you are watching a bad 3D movie in 2D and I was watching one the other night, this Piranha film, it was just bad storytelling in 3D, because everything would come to a stop and this grotesque thing would be sitting in the middle of the screen.

"[The movie uses] these stupid 3D tricks that people used to think were good. And there would be one of these zingers every few minutes where everything would come to a screeching halt and some 3D gag would be hanging right in your face.

"That's the 3D influencing the film-makers and not the other way around."

How to ensure 3D success

Although Cameron doesn't get annoyed that films like Piranha make audiences question the quality of 3D – "The film didn't make that much money, anyway," he explains – he does note that 3D done right is the only real way for box-office success.

"Good 3D that's done well in an integrated way and is an enhancement will make a film money.

"Like Alice In Wonderland and the new Transformers, the 3D was done well on that, it was deep and integrated into the shot design."

BAY-HEM: Michael Bay using a Cameron | Pace camera

One quality improvement for 3D, which Cameron has publicly hailed as the future of the format, is matching the technology with fast frame rate shooting. Although we aren't going to see it used by Cameron until Avatar 2 – which is pencilled in for a 2014 release date – it is a technique that Peter Jackson is using for The Hobbit.

3D WORLD: Cameron behind the scenes of Avatar

"When I went to Show West in 2005 and showed 3D and said this is the future, there was a lot of sniggering and scepticism – even though it turned out to be the case," said Cameron to TechRadar.

"When I showed them high frame rate, however, I did a compelling demonstration, showing the same shot at 24, 48, 60 and so forth and the response was immediate. The exhibitors just got it and understood that this was something they could do quickly, that would be inexpensive.

"It seems to be gathering more momentum than 3D and by the time that I do release the next Avatar in four years it is going to be all over the shop. Something like 50 people would have done it and Peter Jackson looks like the one to break the ice."

3D conversion is "mind numbing"

Although we won't see Avatar 2 for a number of years, Cameron will soon be releasing Titanic 3D, which will be the first time the director has used 2D to 3D conversion – a process that's easy for CG movies like Toy Story but for use on movies with real actors, it is a painstaking process of image manipulation and one Cameron is not entirely enthused about.

TITANIC 3D: A 'mind-numbing process'

"I really don't enjoy the process," he explained.

"While Vince and I sit gleefully watching our 3D images being shot, a conversion is the exact opposite.

"It is a mind numbing process of creating depth subjectively.

"I am five months in so the artists are becoming good and starting to read my mind a little, so it has become easier, but I still sit there with the jog wheel and look through the movie frame by frame and make notes on depth."

"'That should be closer, that should be further back, there's not enough full depth here, there is not enough volume on that shoulder, a little more volume on that urn in the background, see that chair in the background on the left, no the other one on the left, that one needs to come forward another six inches… when the captain stands up we have to do an interlocular dynamic, da da, da da, da da… it's fricking endless!

"It's a mind-numbing process; it's like mowing the lawn with a toenail clipper."

KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Cameron and Pace are like kids when shooting in 3D

While this doesn't mean we won't see other Cameron classics getting the 3D treatment – "Never say never, but if we can't do it with Titanic and George Lucas can't do it with Star Wars, then there isn't a market" – it does prove that introducing 3D at the beginning of the film-making process is far easier than doing it after the fact.

Cameron was keen to point out, however, just how much time he is investing into Titanic 3D.

"We are spending $18 million on Titanic and giving the project a year," he notes after we ask him why he thinks 2D to 3D conversions have failed before, using Clash of the Titans as an example.

"That was a classic mistake," said Cameron.

"They tried to make 3D a post-production process like sound editing and that doesn't work. The film-maker has to be involved and it takes time and good money to do a proper conversion.

"All of those things work against you in post production, where the film-maker is spread thin with getting the visual effects and getting the sound and music done so can't be looking after the 3D and somebody else is doing it.

"They spend five weeks getting stuff done that should take five months, or eight weeks that should take eight months, they spend 10 million dollars on something that costs twice that."

3D has arrived

It is only when you sit down with Cameron you really begin to realise how deep his fascination with 3D is, and that despite the technology still not being where he wants (something he is realistic about), he still believes that 3D's time is now and the tech has arrived at a point when cinema has reached a pinnacle technology-wise.

FACE TO FACE: TechRadar was granted an extensive interview with Cameron

"We have cracked the frame rate issue and there's not much more to be done. I am going to have to spending my entire day on just creative issues," laughed Cameron.

"But we have sort of done it. We have got colour, we have got widescreen, we've got sound, we've stereophonic sound and stereoscopic projection – we are done! We have covered all of the senses.

"For me now, it is getting good practises for 3D into the home, into the workplace, and into our daily image consumption."

Part of this daily 3D image consumption is weaning consumers off the idea that 3D equals glasses.

"We can't wait for big-screen autostereoscopic displays, because right now the quality on them is too poor.

"But smaller screens that are in the desktop, laptop, tablet size, where it is basically a single user model, you can do those right now. And you are going to see a lot more of those products coming to market over the next year and so.

"Then people will realise that 3D doesn't equal glasses, 3D only equals glasses in certain circumstances.

"Ultimately with tablets and laptops, people can toggle between 2D and 3D, and it will just become part of their diet."

For more information on the productions that are using Cameron | Pace equipment and news on their upcoming projects, head over to www.cameronpace.com.

He's already been a champion for 3D, but can James Cameron and his Avatar sequels give 4K more impetus and re-open the great HFR debate to boot?

The trailblazing director has told RTL.fr that he is still debating whether to film the entirety of his return to Avatar's world Pandora at high frame rate's (HFR) 48 frames per second or just some sections.

HFR was widely criticised when used for The Hobbit, but Cameron has never been shy about backing technology in his own films and will make his own decision on the matter.

"Well we're looking at high frame rate: I'm studying that," said Cameron. "I haven't made a final decision yet, whether the entire film will be made at a high frame rate or only parts of it."

Ultra HD

Cameron also explained that he was shooting the film in 4K, something which should resonate with those waiting eagerly for an explosion of 4K content as televisions begin to adopt Ultra HD.

"You know we'll be shooting at a native resolution probably of 4K and so there should be a lot of true 4K theaters by then as well," he added.

The Avatar sequels are, of course, likely to prove to be box office gold - but with 3D still battling to slip the noose on its gimmick tag, it remains to be seen if that can translate into increased popularity for HFR and 4K.

• We interviewed Cameron on why he was backing 3D back in 2012.

Via Screen Rant

It's likely you won't have heard of Nigel Nunn, but if you've played a video game recently there's a very good chance that you have seen his work.

Nunn heads up The Capture Lab which does most of EA's facial capture. TechRadar caught up with him while he was at Premier League side Everton's training groung taking the pictures of players that may well end up in FIFA 14.

From the progress in hauling computer game avatars out of the uncanny valley to why wrinkles are a good thing, Nunn explained to us how he uses a system of 18 cameras to get high resolution imagery. The very same imagery that begins the process of putting Wayne Rooney's pugilist mug into the games that millions play.

"Faces have been a big area of focus for a couple of years now in gaming," said Nunn, who believes his chosen occupation is "super interesting" and pretty new.

Of course, given the thousands of faces that exist in a game like FIFA, a percentage of them are still done from pictures, but Nunn's work has honed the process of converting reality into gaming faces which, if not actually photorealistic, certainly capture the essence of the players.

"The first reason for actually going around the clubs and doing this is time," he explained. "There's a huge time saving in just being able to take their pictures in our system which is all set up as we want it. This means there's not a whole lot of handling of the files.

There's also the matter of accuracy; "We do occasionally need to go in and tweak our cameras but doing it this way means we know scale and proportion and nobody has to touch anything, whereas if we do it from pictures then it's pure interpretation."

Nunn freely admits that with the very nature of gaming consoles and the sheer amount of data required for accuracy, the final product does not always end up looking precisely like the person that has been photographed.

"There's a couple of stages beyond ours," he said. "Our stage captures and processed everything and is based on really high resolution images.

"What we produce is far too high quality to fit on a disc so at some point there is compression and tweaking of the faces so that they can be animated."

We asked Nunn why some players come out looking more realistic than others, even when they have gone through the same process.

"It's hard to say. They get exactly the same treatment, but the end result isn't quite as perfect, although it's tough to say in the process where that happens. It could just be skin type, and certain features certainly come out better.

"It's funny, but coaches always come out looking amazing - wrinkles are definitely a good thing!

Yes, older men with a bit of stubble come out looking perfectly realistic, but a young girl came out terribly and we had to go in and fix a few things."

With the current consoles coming to the end of their lives and the Xbox 720 and PS4 now coming to the fore, attention is very much focused on the future, and TechRadar asked if the next generation would begin to pave the way for more detail and more photorealism.

"I think so," said Nunn. "I think with the technology that's out there now there's no reason not to base something off real life. 3D models in both games and movies are more versatile.

Nunn's process means that EA is already preparing for this change: "What we capture is high quality, we do the same process as is done for movies that don't have the same issues and limitations as we do in gaming. The raw quality of what we capture is excellent its amazing and we will always have that. We've always got these great raw images."

If the face fits

The uncanny valley is the name of the slight wrongness that humans quickly pick up on when they see computer generated humans - from an avatar in a game right the way through to the immensely complicated and expensively created Clu character in Tron: Legacy.

Nunn fully believes that 3D modelling can eventually crack this problem, although he explains that he's not sure yet what the "something magic" that they need to capture is.

It's weird," he said. "It's funny how the first 80 per cent is easy but its the last 20 per cent that we haven't got quite right.

"We need to make little tweaks to get that last little bit. We've already taken huge leaps in basic quality and 80 per cent on the surface looks beautiful

" But we're talking about that tiny little something that the mind can tell means something is not right here - whether that's in the eyes or facial movement or whatever."

Getting back to the world of FIFA, and TechRadar asks Nunn about the reaction of the players to being photographed in such detail.

"There are a lot of players that are huge fans of the game," he answered. "It's always quite surprising how many of these [Premier League] footballers are complete FIFA addicts! There's a lot of trash talking between them about the game when we are taking the photos. Even those that don't play have a nephew or cousin that plays and they want to be a part of that - it certainly makes things a lot easier."

Irregular scans

TechRadar asked about players that were not so keen, but Nunn said that people completely refusing to go through the process were rare.

"Theres always someone who would prefer not to, but they are generally easy to convince. Normally when they see their teammates go through the process they are happier to go through with it.

The face scanning is not done on an annual basis, although Nunn explains that changing hairstyles are dealt with by creating bald models of the player and then adding the hair on afterwards.

"Once we've captured them once that's generally it - unless someone decides to get plastic surgery! We do take the opportunity to do people more than once if they are in the right place, we've just done Joey Barton for the second time because he moved clubs.

"It only takes three minutes to do the photos and then it's up to someone else if they want to use the updated pictures."

And what about the players that ask for subtle changes in post production, like a few extra inches of height or a slightly smaller nose...

"We get those requests all the time!" Nunn said. "A lot of players turn up and, when they see the amount of cameras, disappear off to do their hair and have a shower before they will let us process them."

Frankly, if you pointed 18 cameras at TechRadar, you'd have us scurrying for the nearest mirror, so you won't find us suggesting that footballers are vain.

James Cameron's Avatar is finally coming to homes in its 3D guise, after the exclusive deal Fox had with Panasonic comes to an end.

Although Avatar was released on Blu-ray way back in April 2010, it was only released in 2D.

Given that Avatar's main USP was that it was filmed specifically for a 3D audience, this kind of defeated the point of the movie, as it offered an inferior version of the movie to be viewed in the home.

This was all because of an exclusive deal Twentieth Century Fox did with Panasonic – offering buyers of its home entertainment kit a copy of the 3D Blu-ray.

Now Twentieth Century Fox has confirmed that Avatar Blu-ray 3D Collector's Edition is coming to the UK, and will be in shops in October.

Speaking about the release, James Cameron sad: "3D television is the future of home entertainment.

"I'm a huge proponent of the technology and very pleased that Avatar can be viewed in the living room the way it is meant to be seen."

When TechRadar met James Cameron back in 2011, he said about 3D in the home: "We care about the quality of 3D, so we are looking to constantly improve it. But for the general public, the biggest improvement we can make for them is to give them more stuff.

"They just want more stuff so when they do purchase their 3D TV set, they want to make sure that there is some programming to justify it."

It's a shame then that it has taken this long for Avatar to hit homes, but great that it is here.

Panasonic has signed another deal with Fox for the release of Titanic 3D but this one is thankfully non-exclusive, after the company revealed that the Avatar 3D giveaway deal was a "one off".

The Avatar Blu-ray 3D Collector's Edition UK release date is 15 October.

Sometimes something comes along in life that's so unexpected you can barely understand just what is going on. This happened to TechRadar today when we were sent a link of the new giffgaff promo.

Let's just say, it has to be seen to be believed… so check out the video below and nine other diamonds in the tech rough below.

Ducking hell - giffgaff has released a new promotional video for its 'Unlock a chicken' campaign, whereby for everyone that unlocks their phone and joins giffgaff, a battery chicken is re-homed. To promote this, it has enlisted Keith and Orville the Duck to give their own hip-hop infused take on the matter. That sound you can hear is our jaw hitting the floor.

Film findings - a new infographic shows that the most-pirated movies on the web pretty much match up with the box-office charts. Which means that pirates have the same taste in movies as normal cinemagoers. Crazy. [Meoble.com]

Yahoo bored of the board - Yahoo tells staff to shoo: another one bites the dust at Yahoo headquarters, with news that chairman Roy Bostock has left the board. We suggest he changes his name to Boy Rostock and tries to get on the board again – the way things are going, Yahoo may not notice the difference. [BBC]

LittleBig LittleBigPlanet news - An image has turned up on the web of a new LittleBigPlanet game – LittleBigPlanet Karting. Think Mario Kart but with courses you can create yourself. A bit like ModNation Racers, but a bit more awesome. [Eurogamer]

Gaming nirvana - AMD is hosting its AMD Heaven 25 February and The Brewery in Central London. Beer and games, what's not to like? [AMDHeaven.com]

Sky acting like a twit - BSkyB has reportedly asked all Sky News staff to stop tweeting breaking news until it has been verified by its own newsdesk – which kind of defeats the object of Twitter as an echo chamber for the news. There was nothing in the memo about not using MySpace to pimp out their music side projects.

We all live in a Cameron submarine - James Cameron is creating a brand-new submarine for him and his fellow bandmates to live in while being chased by Blue Meanies. Well, kind of – he's using it to film the underwater bits for Avatar 2. [SlashFilm]

Netflix being lily-livered? - Movie streaming service Netflix has said that it won't tell anyone where the one person that watched its online series Lillyhammer lives – not even if you twist its arm and ask nicely. [Deadline]

Bang, and the bugs are gone - Turns out plasma technology isn't just good for TVs, it is good at getting rid of bacteria too. Researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia have created a plasma torch to zap away any bacteria on food. It will kill a Yakult in seconds. Maybe. [Ubergizmo]

You've got the touch… - Anything Apple can do, Logitech can try and match it and get inferior sales. That's right, Logitech has released a Magic Mouse lookalike in the form of the Logitech Touch Mouse M600. We can't wait to get touch feely with it. [Logitech]

James Cameron's partner Vince Pace has stated that the 3D in Avatar could have been taken further – admitting that there were times when they played safe with the most famous 3D movie of all time, and insisting that Hugo represents the evolution of the technology.

Avatar was a smash hit, partly because of the technology and innovation of the Cameron Pace Group – which has also been responsible for the stellar 3D within Martin Scorsese's critically acclaimed Hugo.

"We were experimenting with Avatar," Pace told the Hollywood Reporter. "We could have gone further, but we wanted to make sure we found ourselves somewhere in the middle of concentrating on a good film and focusing on 3D elements.

"We didn't want to compromise the actual film by taking away from the story for the sake of 3D. We tended to play it somewhat safer in the approach. But as Jim likes to say, 'You don't make any mistakes when you're first.'"

Hugo-agogo

Pace believes that Hugo is a movie that shows just what can be achieved in 3D when the film is built around the technology, rather than adding it in as an extra.

"Marty [Scorsese] knew where he wanted to go and was adamant to get there," added Pace. "Early on, we explained to Marty that he was doing exactly what he'd normally do in approaching a film.

"3D was playing an opportunistic role, not changing everything he knew. The real challenge is reversing the tide of 3D going to effects instead of perspective."

"Hugo helps us get it back on the right track. With all of our projects, the beauty is that we're supporting the efforts of filmmakers rather than reinventing the process."

A new digital edition of James Cameron's Avatar will arrive exclusively on iTunes next week.

The Avatar iTunes Extras Special Edition will bring never-seen-before special features, offering a behind the scenes insight into how the biggest movie of all time was made.

The new edition, which arrives on December 20, brings a Green Screen X-ray feature which allows viewers to movie around a scene viewing the original green screen footage, prior to the addition of CGI.

Avatar special edition for iTunes also allows lets fans "deconstruct scenes" from the movie with picture-in-picture views of how the special effects were applied.

Simultaneous views

The official press release says: "Fans can experience the global box office sensation like never before as they control scene deconstructions in simultaneous views.

"This new feature will also enable consumers to interact with the performance capture and visual effects levels in 17 of the film's scenes.

"For the first time ever, Green Screen X-ray gives users an interactive look through the visual effects levels to see the original green screen footage behind a pivotal scene."

iTunes Extras launched in 2009 aiming to compete with physical discs by offering the same range of special features, but this exclusive is the first real evidence that content providers are taking it seriously.

The iTunes special edition of Avatar is available to pre-order now from iTunes in HD and SD, but there's no 3D version as yet.

Via: Hollywood Reporter

Martin Scorsese has admitted that he would consider shooting all of his future films in 3D, following his experience directing Hugo.

The legendary filmmaker, whose new 3D fairytale adventure opens in the UK this weekend, says that his 1970s classic Taxi Driver could have benefited from being shot in 3D.

When asked by Deadline whether he'd consider going 3D-only, he said: "Quite honestly, I would."

"I don't think there's a subject matter that can't absorb 3D; that can't tolerate the addition of depth as a storytelling technique. We view everyday life with depth."

Stark turnaround

The admission from Scorsese, marks a stark turnaround from his previous position when he stated two years ago that he had no interest in making a 3D film. So what changed his mind?

"Well, the story of Hugo," he said. "The climate of what Jim Cameron did with Avatar and 3D seemed right and the subject matter was just perfect for it. And it was time to take a chance with it."

"(3D) shouldn't be limited to fantasy or sci-fi. Look at (Werner) Herzog's use of it (in Cave of Forgotten Dreams), Wim Wenders with Pina.

"It should be considered a serious narrative element and tool, especially when telling a story with depth as narrative."

Frightening presence

When asked which of his previous films might have benefited from the 3D medium he said that The Aviator and Taxi Driver sprang to mind.

"Taxi Driver, because of the intimidation of the main character, his presence is everywhere, a frightening kind of presence."

Scorsese's eventual embracing of 3D should be considered a landmark for the medium.

Critics are calling Hugo, the most important 3D movie since Avatar and are almost universal in their praise for the title.

Via: Guardian, Deadline

In what has to be one of the most candid and honest rants from a movie CEO in years, Universal chief Ron Meyer has revealed all about the rubbish films his company makes and how 3D can make some awful movies 'palatable'.

Using words too rude to be printed here, Meyer admits that a number of the movies Universal has made in recent years have been, er, below par – he cites Wolfman and Babe 2 – but believes that new-ish cinema gimmicks like 3D should be used with caution, even though they can improve bad films.

"I'm not a believer that every film should be 3D," Meyer explained to an audience at the Savannah Film Festival.

"I think there's a place for it; I think certain films lend themselves to it. Warner Bros. did Journey to the Center of the Earth; that movie would have never worked had it not been 3D.

"The only thing that made that film palatable at all was the 3D aspect."

3D money maker

While praising what James Cameron did with Avatar, Meyer did note that those without Cameron's money (ie, everyone) should think twice about using 3D liberally but there is some scope for the technology.

"None of us would be able to do, or afford, what Jim Cameron was able to do with Avatar," Meyer said.

"Avatar was everything money could buy and we can't afford to be in that business. He spent a lot of money, he did a brilliant job… you were inside that movie and that's what made it work. You were surrounded by that film.

"I think 3D has a limited capacity, but a capacity. I don't think all films should be 3D and we should be careful about falling for that."

No demand for on demand?

Meyer also revealed that he still holds out hope for simultaneous cinema and VOD releases, even though a trial with recent Universal movie Tower Heist was less than successful.

The reason the Tower Heist VOD trial was abandoned was because some cinema owners boycotted the movie, believing that this closing of the cinema-to-home window would severely damage ticket sales.

Meyer is still hopeful that something could work in the future, however, saying: "I think there are a lot of people who won't go to the theatre and are happy to pay a premium price – whether $66 is the right price, or it's more or less.

"I think there are people that would be willing to pay that price to not have to leave their house and be able to watch that first-run movie while it's still in theatres, on whatever size screen you have at home.

"We have to be better about it, the studios, and the theatre exhibitors have to probably be a little more accepting of what we want to do. We'll have to find a way to do it together."

Head over to Movieline for the full transcript, which is very much worth a read. Especially if you want to read a CEO of a film company rip into many of his own movies.

Sky Movies chief Ian Lewis has told TechRadar that, despite Avatar already bringing 3D's defining moment, it will be 2D to 3D conversions that lift the technology to mass market appeal.

Lewis, speaking at the media event for the Sky Movies app, professed his love for James Cameron's Avatar and his hopes that either the technophile director's conversion of Titanic to 3D or George Lucas' Star Wars: A Phantom Menace will 'crack' the process.

"The big question for us is if anyone can crack 2D to 3D conversion," said Lewis, echoing the sentiments of Cameron when he spoke to TechRadar in September.

Experimenting

"I know everybody is experimenting with it but I've yet to see a made for 2D movie where I've though the 3D conversion is good enough.

"We're hopeful for the first half of next year where you have George Lucas releasing Phantom Menace in 3D and Cameron releasing Titanic, and one of those two, or between them, they will crack it."

Lewis believes that Avatar set a standard for 3D film that has rarely been reached, and its use of the technology has already provided the defining moment for the technology.

"Avatar is, by a million miles, top of the tree," he asserted. "Avatar blew me away and for me it is a defining moment for 3D, up there with the moment that the ships flies over at the beginning of Star Wars or when Sam Neill turns around in Jurassic Park to see a dinosaur."

Tablets, laptops and desktop PCs are the key to 3D becoming mainstream in the home, according to director James Cameron, who sees these as the devices to deliver glasses-free 3D content which will become part of our daily lives.

Speaking to TechRadar at IBC, Cameron explained that while movies had done their job to get 3D recognised as a viable format for content, glasses-free 3D on tablets and other portable devices will show consumers that 3D shouldn't always be associated with glasses, and these will fill this role until autostereoscopic TVs finally make their way into homes.

Daily 3D diet

Talking about the eventual mass adoption of 3D, Cameron said to TechRadar: "We can't wait for glasses free 3D TVs. We can't wait for autostereoscopic displays, because right now the quality on them is too poor.

"There is a lot of technology that has to be worked out before we have high quality, full resolution autostereoscopic screens that are big screens, in the 40, 50, 60-inch range.

"Now smaller screens that are in the desktop, laptop, tablet size, where it is basically a single user model, you can do those right now. And you are going to see a lot more of those products coming to market over the next year and so.

"Then people will realise that 3D doesn't equal glasses, 3D only equals glasses in certain circumstances. And I think ultimately the tablets and laptops, people can toggle between 2D and 3D, and it will just become part of their diet."

You can read the full TechRadar interview with James Cameron here.

As well as an increasingly good choice of quality 3D Blu-ray movies, 3D TV broadcasters such as Sky and Virgin Media in the UK are already promising viewers lots more quality 3D content later this year and beyond and we've gathered together 10 of the best new shows and movies below.

Sky, in particular, is really pushing the development of quality 3D TV content in the UK (and beyond), announcing this week that it has now formed a brand new 3D production company, Colossus Productions.

It has teamed up with leading UK Independent producer, Atlantic Productions, producers of the BAFTA award-winning Flying Monsters 3D and follows the recent confirmation of new 3D output deals with Disney, Discovery Networks and MTV.

And, most importantly of all for fans of 3D cinema, it looks like Hollywood has been listening to recent criticisms from the TV industry about the dodgy quality of a lot of its recent 3D output, with the major Tinseltown studios clearly stepping up their 3D game later this year and beyond.

Talk about the future of the 3D medium is no longer centred on James Cameron's sequel to the technically ground-breaking Avatar, which speaks volumes about the number of other major 3D projects now in development.

"The bad news is that Hollywood took the interest and mild excitement that people had for 3D and spewed out several movies that were either outright poor all over the place, or were poorly converted to 3D in post-production," says Adam Taylor, Adotomi agency analyst and 3D expert, in summary of the state of 3D play in the cinema industry.

"The good news is that with Avatar, the 3D genie is out of the bottle and if directors really want to wow the audience in terms of special effects, it's got to include 3D."

Taylor's tip is to look out for the big name directors that you trust the most in cinema. Which isn't actually too difficult, with major 3D productions currently underway from the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Ridley Scott and Peter Jackson.

Whether you plan to catch up on Sky's forthcoming 3D Meerkats or sample the music festival delights of Bestival 3D on your 3D TV in the comfort of your own home, or want to know which 3D movies you should be looking out for at your local multiplex over the next year or two - here are the definitive top ten 3D movies and TV programmes on the way to you soon.

1. Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' - due June 2012

With Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron and Idris Elba playing three of the lead roles, it's fairly easy to see why sci-fi fans are already getting excited about Scott's forthcoming 3D masterpiece.

"Ridley Scott's return to science fiction would be excitement enough and while it's too bad that it's not a full-blown 'Alien' prequel, it's close enough," says Adam Taylor.

2. Francis Ford Coppola's 'Twixt' - due late 2011

True to form, Coppola's first major 3D movie is going to take a slightly different twist, encouraging the audience to don 3D glasses only at certain moments and scenes throughout the picture, using on-screen visual clues to let you know when to take your glasses on and off. It's a massive gamble, but one his legions' of fans are praying will pay off.

The story focuses on a has-been writer who gets caught up in a murder mystery while away on a book tour. This unconventional 3D film stars Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern and Ben Chaplin, with Coppola describing Twixt as "one part Gothic romance, one part personal film, and one part the kind of horror film that began my career" – adding that the idea for the story came to him in a dream and was also inspired by the writings of Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

3. 3D Bestival - due September 2011

Forget about the BBC's impressively-good blanket coverage of the Glastonbury festival each year. Sky plans to 1-up the Beeb this year, by broadcasting the Bestival festival in glorious 3D in September.

Which means, should you not be able to drag your sorry self to the Isle of Wight this coming autumn to enjoy all of Rob Da Bank's fun-and-frolics in real life, you can at least still pretend you were there by watching the whole thing on your new 3D TV.

"In what is undoubtedly our finest year to date, which will include sets from The Cure, Pendulum, Primal Scream presents Screamadelica, PJ Harvey, Brian Wilson and DJ Shadow amongst a huge and ever-growing line-up of musical treats, Bestival 2011 hurtles headlong into the future, adding a whole new dimension to our televisual shenanigans, breaking new ground for festival entertainment with a super-generous seven and a half hours of Bestival 3D TV on Sky this coming September" says Da Bank.

"It's amazing to be part of the world's first 3D TV festival extravaganza on Sky. Bestival in 3D will be a mind-blowing explosion of colour and multi-dimensional music and mayhem and it's great to be working with Whizz Kid again to bring it to life. Having Camp Bestival too as part of the Sky festival season means we've got a great summer of TV ahead."

4. Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' - due September 2011

That's right. Scorsese! He of Goodfellas, Mean Streets and Casino fame is actually planning on making a charming 3D family and kids' movie called Hugo.

Scorsese's new 3D movie is an adaptation of Brian Selznick's popular children's adventure, starring Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Emily Mortimer, Helen Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Sacha Baron Cohen and a load of other major AAA-stars.

Chloë Moretz says that the movie is: "Neverland and Oz and Treasure Island all wrapped into one." Which sounds utterly magical. Let's hope it is!

5. Steven Spielberg's 'The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn' - due late 2011

Spielberg does Tintin, in which our French adventurer and his chums discoverer directions to a sunken ship commanded by Captain Haddock's ancestor and head off on a treasure hunt.

It is fully computer animated, uses the latest motion capture tech in 3D and is directed by one of the greatest filmmakers of our age. What could possibly go wrong? (Hopefully nothing)

6. James Cameron's Avatar sequel - Avatar 2 - due 2014

Yes, you read that correctly. The sequel to Avatar is not actually scheduled for release until 2014. Which seems a hell of a long time to wait for those people who genuinely liked the first movie (as a movie, and not as a 2-hour-plus tech demo, that is).

3D-movie evangelist Cameron is also apparently looking to shoot some footage seven miles underwater in the Challenger Deep, the deepest location on earth. How the hell he is practically going to manage that is still to be revealed. We only hope that it doesn't take his focus away from storytelling, character and dialogue…

7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - due December 2012

There is pretty much no question that The Hobbit in 3D is going to be one of the biggest 3D movies of 2012.

With Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee and a host of other AAA-Hollywood talent joining Peter Jackson in re-making one of the greatest fantasy stories of our age in 3D…

8. Brave from Pixar - due 2012

With Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane involved in the next major new 3D movie from the cinema tech ninjas at Disney Pixar, it is obvious why cinephiles are looking forward to Brave.

This new Pixar movie is set in Scotland "in a rugged and mythical time" telling the story of Merida, who likes archery and is described as "an impetuous daughter of royalty" looking to put things right after she makes a number of unfortunate mistakes.

9. 3D Meerkats - Sky - due October

Meerkats in 3D. Who is not going to want to watch that? Surely only a true cynic that has had their heart and soul surgically removed by their own misplaced contempt for modern life?

Caroline Hawkins and her Oxford Scientific 3D movie crew are currently putting the finishing touches to their latest meerkat doc, following the hugely successful four Meerkat Manor series and the Flower movie "Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins".

"The footage gathered so far has been extremely good. The 3D effect is truly amazing, you really feel you can reach out and touch the meerkats. We've had a few impromptu screenings at the reserve and everyone has been transfixed," says Hawkins.

10. The Amazing Spider-man - due 2012

Spider Man 4(or whatever the fans may call it) may not have Tobey Macguire playing our favourite super-hero, yet it is said to be something of a re-boot in the series, featuring that guy out of The Social Network (Andrew Garfield) as Spidey instead of Macguire.

Can Garfield cut it? It's one of the most highly–anticipated 3D movies since Avatar. So one would certainly hope he can!

Panasonic has confirmed that the long-term Avatar 3D Blu-ray deal with 20th Century Fox was a one-off.

Many non-Panasonic-owning 3D fans are disgruntled by the fact that they won't be able to enjoy the little blue men in 3D in the comfort of their own homes until February 2012, two years after Avatar's cinematic release.

Masayuki Kozuka, head of R&D for Panasonic's Media and Content Alliance, told Home Cinema Choice of the deal: "The market is more mature now, but during 2010 there was very little software. We needed an incentive."

Studios to blame

He also revealed that 20th Century Fox lured Panasonic and Samsung into a bidding war over the 3D release.

Kozuka was keen to point out that it is not the manufacturers who are pushing this model, saying: "Studios come to us and ask if we want to take exclusive deals. We don't usually go to them."

Exclusive deals may offer a short-term incentive to new 3D customers but a general release will surely prove better for all concerned in the long run; leaving segments of the market out of the 3D loop will only lead to bad feeling, more piracy and lower sales of 3D movies.

Via Home Cinema Choice

The forthcoming feature film based on kids' favourite Horrid Henry is being given the 3D treatment by British 3D specialists Vision3, shooting in London now.

Nick Moore's £4 million-budget film, stars Hollywood A-listers such as Angelica Houston and Richard E Grant, and is set to be shot over seven weeks in Twickenham Studios and at locations across London.

Horridly funny

Horrid Henry, for those not familiar, is based on Francesca Simon's much-loved storybook character,

Vision3 stereographers are set to work closely with Vertigo Films and director Sam McCurdy, whose previous movie credits include Dog Soldiers and Streetdance 3D.

Vision3's Matt Smith will be heading up the production work on the new movie, with Smith's previous credits including TT3D, a feature documentary profiling the world famous Isle of Man TT Motorcycle Race, in addition to working with Vision3 founder Chris Parks on the forthcoming Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – both flicks are due at some point in 2011.

Vision3 founder Chris Parks said of the latest 3D kids' blockbuster: "Working on a children's classic provides fantastic opportunities to do genuinely creative and fun 3D.

"From a technical point of view our priority is to ensure both a smooth 3-D workflow and a comfortable and consistent viewing experience.

"Keeping in mind Horrid Henry's comic strip origins we're intentionally using 3D card-boarding as a creative tool, working to bring some of the layered feeling of cartoons to life on the big screen."

The 3D team will be using Element Technica's Quasar rig, and shooting on Reds supplied by Take2 Films.

The greatest children entertainers of all time (well, on a par with the cast of Rentaghost), The Chuckle Brothers are to release a 3D movie of their exploits which is set to be more 'to me, at you' rather than 'to me, to you'.

In what could well be the movie which knocks Avatar off of its po-faced 3D perch, The Chuckle Brothers have revealed that not only are they making their first movie but it will be in another dimension.

"We've always wanted to make a film. A Chuckle Brothers movie," Barry Chuckle said to Digital Spy.

"We've always wanted to do that and there is one in the pipeline now for us to do next year. That is very exciting.

"We'll probably be doing that in May, June time. It is a spoof horror and it's going to be in 3D, which is another first for us. We've never been in 3D before."

Brothers beyond

Spoof Horror? 3D? Consider us sold. Personally, TechRadar is hoping that the movie is more Spooky Goings On than Spooky Goings On 2, though if the plot has any of the pathos of the Brothers' earlier TV effort Doctor What & the Return of the Garlics, then we will be more than pleased.

Although The Chuckle Brothers have made a pact with the devil to look the same forever, The Chuckle Brothers have been plying their trade since 1967, but only really made it to the screen in 1985.

Interestingly, this is a mere year after James Cameron hit the big time with The Terminator.

Although Cameron's and the Chuckle's careers have taken decidedly different paths since then, it will be interesting to see if in 2011 The Chuckle Brothers 3D will be the movie which truly brings 3D to the mainstream.

Via Digital Spy

James Cameron has revealed he is not a fan of 3D conversion for new movies, but believes library titles would benefit from being changed into another dimension.

Speaking at Blu-Con 2010 - with TechRadar in attendance via video link - Cameron, who is a massive advocate of 3D filming, explained his stance on 3D conversion, saying: "The studios like the idea of tapping into 3D but you can't do a good 3D conversion of a high-quality movie in a few weeks.

"This happened with Clash of the Titans and that was seen as a disaster," the director said.

"If you want it done right then you need to spend six months in post-production. Conversion should be kept for library titles not for new movies, though."

3D conversion woes

He also revealed that the new Harry Potter movie wasn't shot in 3D as it was suffering from the same problem as Clash of the Titans – time constraints.

Although Harry Potter was advertised as 3D, its studio Warner later revealed that it would be in 3D no more.

"They announced it in 3D and threw money at it trying to convert it to 3D in post-production and it simply didn't work," he explained.

"They just didn't get it done."

And it is because of this, Cameron believes that a 3D film should be a 3D film right from the off, saying: "If you are going to release a movie in 3D, make it in 3D. It shouldn't be tacked on; it should be part of the production process."

Stereo lab

Interestingly, Cameron also explained that there is no difference in the effect of stereoscopic 3D in the home from the cinema.

Speaking about his experience with 3D when making Avatar, he said: "The stereoscopic effect is the same on an 80-foot screen as it is on a 50-inch one. The experience is different but the effect is the same.

"When you watch Avatar 3D in the home you will see the same effect, we have done very little, nearly nothing to change the stereoscopic effect for the home."

There is one caveat to this, though, and that is with mobile devices and tablets.

"The only time it is different is with smaller screens," Cameron explains.

"If you were to watch a 3D movie on an iPad, then that is the time that you ramp up the depth."

3D on an iPad - is Cameron hinting at something?

James Cameron took to the stage at Blu-Con 2010 this week to promote the new extended edition of Avatar on Blu-ray.

Speaking to the packed audience – and TechRadar through satellite link courtesy of the DEGE – the director said that, although 3D is the big selling point of the movie, for him the CGI was a bigger deal.

"It's funny that the press has latched on to the 3D thing for Avatar. In a way 3D was the least of Avatar for me. I had already done 3D for 10 years and created the technology six years ago.

"We spent two years in R&D to develop the facial capture for Avatar, the CGI. For me this was the big thing."

The extended edition of the movie will feature a full 16 minutes of extra footage which came at some cost to distributor Fox.

Each minute of footage, according to Cameron, equated to $1 million in cost and this was the reason why the film was re-released in the cinemas – essentially to pay the post-production bill. This was all done, though, because Cameron wanted to utilise Blu-ray to its fullest.

"I love Blu-ray. I wish all of my movies could be seen on Blu-ray," Cameron explained.

"It is the image quality, it is the storage density – we can pack so much on to a disc.

"We don't want to do further editions of Avatar – I want this to be definitive. There's a massive making-of and over 47 minutes of deleted scenes on the disc."

There is one further edition, though, and that is the 3D version of the movie. Although no release date of this was given, Panasonic recently announced it was bundling the disc with its Full HD 3D products.

"We have already mastered the 3D Blu-ray and it looks great," explained Cameron.

"We are way past 3D as flavour of the month," he continued. "This is not a flirtation. "When 3D came out in the past, back in the '50s, it vanished after one year.

"This is a renaissance of the technology and it will be here definitely."

As for expanding 3D, Cameron believes that the lack of technology is the problem at the moment.

"The biggest limitation is that we don't have enough cameras. And once we get past the last threshold – autostereoscopic – then it will be how we watch everything.

"But at the moment 3D will be with glasses for the next five years."

The Avatar Extended Collector's Edition has a UK release date of 15 November, courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

Panasonic has announced that it has nabbed the exclusivity to Avatar 3D in the UK and is bundling the disc with a number of its Full HD 3D products.

Avatar is one of the biggest grossing movies to date, let alone the biggest 3D movie, and Panasonic has been a massive partner for the movie, with cross promotion starting as far back as August last year.

Panasonic even authored the 3D Blu-ray at its Advanced Authoring Centre in California.

The 3D Blu-ray will be offered with everything from Panasonic's VT20 and GT20 series TVs to the HDC-SDT750, its 3D capable camcorder.

3D discussion

Speaking about the 3D Blu-ray deal, Laurent Abadie, CEO and Chairman, Panasonic Europe said, "Panasonic provides the most immersive 3D experience, from the authoring of exceptional 3D content to providing the best technology to view it on, with our 3D Blu-ray players and 3D Viera TVs. Avatar is the ideal film to demonstrate our end-to-end 3D capabilities."

TechRadar will be getting some facetime (through the wonders of video technology) with James Cameron this week, so we will let you know what he thinks about the future of 3D and the fact he is making Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 back to back shortly.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Google's chief exec Eric Schmidt, filmmaker James Cameron has announced plans for the next two Avatar movies, criticised the current state of 3D television and reiterated his belief that technology can save the planet from ecological apocalypse.

Cameron says stereoscopic 3D TV's day will come, but stressed that it requires far better tech and content before going truly mass market.

"Well, we see the world in 3D," Cameron told the audience at a Churchill Club dinner this week in California. "To me, there are no barriers to 3D TV in homes in five to ten years."

3D TV five years away

In Cameron's opinion auto-stereoscopic (glasses-free) 3D technology is the way forward for 3D in the home.

"The sweet spots subdivide the total resolution of the screen so breakthroughs have to happen in display manufacturing," said Cameron, predicting that Moore's Law would mean we will have such TVs within four or five years.

"I'm sure you're the only person in Hollywood that actually understands Moore's Law," Google's Eric Schmidt told Cameron, somewhat obsequiously.

The availability of decent 3D content is also a sticking problem for the Avatar director, who admitted that sports and video-gaming will drive 3D TV uptake in the home.

Avatar 2 not till 2014

Cameron revealed that it will likely by 2014 before we get to see Avatar 2 followed soon after in 2015 by the third movie in the series.

"Silicon Valley is about making things, and James is our analogue in Hollywood," said Google's Eric Schmidt.

Cameron revealed he is currently developing ways of filming underwater scenes in 3D.

"You will see computer-generated water and the optics of bringing light through water. It's all doable. Those are just plug-ins."

Via Venturebeat