A new trailer for director James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water once again focuses on the mythical world of Pandora and teases more of the film's story.
The second trailer comes a month before the film's launch on December 15 on the same week its runtime was revealed to be over three hours at a whopping 190 minutes.
Avatar: The Way of Water's synopsis says it is "set more than a decade after the events of the first film" and will tell "the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure".
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, CCH Pounder and Giovanni Ribisi are among those back from the original film and playing their original roles.
Sigourney Weaver is also back, but will play a different part.
Worthington plays Jake Sully, who left his human body to wed Saldaña's Neytiri and join her in life on Pandora as a Na'vi avatar.
The trailer also hints at war coming to Pandora, with Sully heading to other tribes, who ominously warn him "we cannot let you bring your war here".
Early indications are the movie has an environmental thrust with scenes of burning forests and one character lamenting: "The way of water connects all things - before your birth and after your death."
Much of the new trailer focuses on aqua-based CGI work with Cameron having shot plenty of the movie underwater with specially developed cameras.
But the film's story appears to be based on the theme of family.
"The story is about family, about our families trying to stay together [and] the lengths to which we all go to protect each other and protect the place where we live," star Weaver told Variety at a recent screening of another of her films.
"It's very much based on Cameron's family and his joy in the family; and also, how vulnerable you are when you have children."
Also joining the Avatar cast are Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, Edie Falco and Jemaine Clement.
According to Cameron, the sequel to his 2009 sci-fi blockbuster Avatar - the highest-grossing movie of all time - will feature "never-seen-before" filming techniques.
"We are very lucky as we chose this (Wellington) as our production site years ago, we made our first film here in NZ and it turns out it's ranked as either the first or second-best country in the world with its COVID-19 response - so we are very fortunate," Cameron said in 2020.
Avatar: The Way of Water releases in cinemas December 15. Avatar 3 was filmed simultaneously and is scheduled for a December 2024 release.
