Is There an End-Credits Scene in "Avatar: The Way of Water"? Here's the Deal

Updated on 12/16/2022 at 4:50 PM

The long-awaited "Avatar" sequel, "Avatar: The Way of Water," premieres on Dec. 16. The film is a gorgeous reimmersion into the Na'vi people and their water-filled world, filled with stunning visuals and a storyline rooted in family values and the importance of a connection to nature. The movie is set a decade later and follows Sam Worthington's Jake Sully and Zoe Saldaña's Neytiri, who fell in love in the first film. The first trailer premiered on Nov. 2, and on Dec. 7, a second trailer was released featuring a new song by The Weeknd titled "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)." The song is also featured on the movie's soundtrack, which was released on Dec. 15.

The movie also introduces viewers to Jake and Neytiri's kids for the first time. One of their children, an adopted daughter named Kiri, is played by Sigourney Weaver, whose original character, Dr. Grace Augustine, died in the original 2009 "Avatar" film. Weaver, 73, returns for the second film to play Kiri, and she told Empire magazine on July 1, "I think we all pretty much remember what we were feeling as adolescents. I certainly do. I was 5' 10" or 5' 11" when I was 11. I felt strongly that Kiri would feel awkward a lot of the time. She's searching for who she is. I was thrilled to be given that challenge."

It's been a long time since the original "Avatar" landed in theaters — more than a decade, in fact. The new movie takes place in a future when humans, who have completely depleted Earth's natural resources, travel to the fictional moon of Pandora to mine for resources, kicking off a war with the Na'vi, the moon's inhabitants, a species of 10-foot-tall humanoid aliens. The movie went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time.

While director James Cameron's film was supposed to get a sequel many years ago, production was delayed on the big-budget feature. The time has finally come, though, for "Avatar 2" to be seen by the world, and, yes, there are other sequels in the works.

Ahead, here's everything you need to know about "Avatar: The Way of Water," including the cast, trailers, and runtime.

"Avatar 2" Trailer #2

A second trailer was released on Dec. 7. It features The Weeknd's new song, "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)."

"Avatar 2" Trailer #1

Disney released the full trailer for "Avatar: The Way of Water" on Nov. 2.

"Avatar 2" Teaser Trailer

Disney released the teaser trailer for "The Way of Water" on May 9.

20th Century Studios

"Avatar 2" Run Time

According to Empire Magazine, the current run time for "Avatar: The Way of Water" is "coming in at around three hours." Director James Cameron defended the movie's long length in an interview with the outlet, saying, "I don't want anybody whining about length when they sit and binge-watch [television] for eight hours . . . I've watched my kids sit and do five one-hour episodes in a row. Here's the big social paradigm shift that has to happen: it's okay to get up and go pee." According to IMDb, the exact run time is 3 hours and 12 minutes.

The first "Avatar" movie clocked in at two hours and 42 minutes, so the sequel's run time shouldn't be a huge surprise to viewers.

20th Century Studios

"Avatar 2" Release Date

"Avatar: The Way of Water" premieres Dec. 16, after several lengthy delays. More sequels are scheduled to come out in the next few years as well, according to Newsweek. Disney has not announced yet when the movie will be available to stream.

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"Avatar 2" Cast

Much of the cast of the 2009 film have returned for "Avatar: The Way of Water," including Worthington as Jake Sully and Saldaña as Neytiri. Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch also returns for this film. We see some new faces, including Edie Falco, Kate Winslet, and Giovanni Ribisi. Weaver also returns, this time as the teenage daughter of Sully and Neytiri.

Michelle Yeoh is also joining the Avatar franchise, but not in this movie; the actor signed on for the planned sequels instead. Vin Diesel is also joining the Avatar family, though he also does not appear in "Avatar 2."

Everett Collection

"Avatar 2" Plot

"Avatar: The Way of Water," which is a 3D movie, focuses on the Sully family. The movie takes place a decade after the first one and dives into the dangers and drama the Sullys are facing on Pandora and everything they go through to protect each other.

At CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April, producer Jon Landau was on hand to discuss the upcoming movie and its following sequels. "At the center of each of the four sequels will be the Sully family," he said, according to Deadline. "Each story will be a stand-alone and each will come to its own conclusion," he said, adding that there will be a "fulfilling resolution to each film, but when looked at as a whole the journey across all four will create a larger epic saga."

Walt Disney Studios

Is There an End-Credits Scene in "Avatar 2"?

There is no end-credits scene in "Avatar 2," so you don't need to worry about sitting in the theater after the movie's conclusion. The film clocks in at 192 minutes long, so you might be ready to leave at that point — but on the other hand, it's worth sticking around to pay tribute to the long list of people who made the visually stunning movie possible.