'Avatar 2' release date, news: upcoming movie gets final schedule of premiere

After some time of guessing and hoping that the movie release will not get any further delay, the most-awaited movie sequel, "Avatar 2," gets its confirmed schedule of premiere.

The official Twitter page of the box office authority, Exhibitors Relations, made the discreet confirmation. In a social media post, Exhibitors Relations said, "UNTITLED FOX/LIGHTSTORM FILM will drop December 21, 2018."

Even though the social media post screams "untitled" film in block letters, fans are quick to conclude that the post was about "Avatar 2" since Lightstorm Film is a movie studio owned by "Avatar" franchise director, James Cameron.

Also, it is important to note that in the first "Avatar" movie, Lightstorm was the main studio involved in crafting the film while Fox was the official distributor. Ultimately, it has been publicized before that "Avatar 2" will premiere in December 2018, just in time for Christmas.

Before the confirmation, fans were holding on to their seats hoping that the movie will not be moved to a later schedule. Cameron is known for not minding too much about the release date. It can be recalled that in 2015, "Avatar 2" was initially targeted to hit the theaters by Christmas of 2017, but that was obviously delayed.

However, as Cameron noted in an interview with Montreal Gazette in 2015, "Christmas of '17 is the target. At least, that's what we've announced. But I don't consider that to be as important as the fact that when we get all three films done, we drop them a year apart."

On a good note, the 2018 release will be more likely especially when Stephen Lang earlier confirmed that filming for the sequel will start soon after New Year. Lang will reprise his role as Colonel Miles Quaritch.

Lang told the attendees of Wizard World Comic Con Chicago last August, "As the New Year turns, we start to shoot for the Avatar sequels. I think that the whole process of making the films and opening the films will go to about 2023."

The 2023 mark is also in sync with what Cameron told Variety. According to the director, their "game plan" is to release sequels on 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023 during the Christmas seasons of each year.