James Cameron’s 2009 sci-fi film Avatar has been quietly removed from Disney Plus ahead of the film’s re-release in theaters next month. Via Collider, Disney’s choice to remove the film from the streaming service is likely a deliberate tactic to encourage people to return to the movies.
Disney will bring Avatar back to theaters this September ahead of the December release of Avatar: The Way of Water. Considering it’s been over a decade since Avatar was originally released, some might be interested in seeing it again before the release of the long-awaited sequel.
Avatar’s removal from Disney+ didn’t go over well for everyone, as some see it as a repulsive move, especially considering Disney didn’t inform subscribers of its removal ahead of time.
Avatar is the highest-grossing film in history with $2.8 billion worldwide, unadjusted for inflation. Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame ranks second with $2.79 billion, while Cameron’s Titanic ranks third all-time with $2.2 billion.
The Avatar relaunch hits theaters on September 23, while The Way of Water opens on December 16. There’s no word yet on when, if ever, Avatar might return to Disney Plus.
The Way of Water brings back Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore and Giovanni Ribisi. Sigourney Weaver will also return, but in a new role, considering her character in the original Avatar has died. Avatar 3 was filmed back-to-back with The Way of Water, and stories are written for Avatar 4 and 5, but whether or not they are made will depend on how well The Way of Water performs.
In other Avatar news, Ubisoft’s new video game Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora has been delayed.
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