Avatar opened so long ago. How long ago? Barack Obama was still in his first year in his first term. His successor had only recently joined Twitter, which was still young. There had only been two films in the MCU. It’s been a while, both for Pandora and for its creator, James Cameron, who hasn’t made anything since. He has to make up for lost time, and boy has he.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the 13-years-later sequel Avatar: The Way of Water has an official running time, and it’s a doozy: three hours and 10 minutes. For some perspective, the original Avatar was a “mere” two hours and 41 minutes. Still, its sequel isn’t quite as long as another Cameron picture, Titanic, which was long the highest-grossing movie in film history (not adjusted for inflation) despite being three hours and 14 minutes.
Much has changed since 2009. For one thing, movies are generally longer. Avengers: Endgame ran three hours and two minutes. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever clocks in at original Avatar length: 161 minutes. Then there’s Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. When it came out in 2009, Avatar was a game-changer. Way of Water may be, too; after all, it’s already allowed Kate Winslet to beat one of Tom Cruise’s records. But at least it’s conforming to one trend.
(Via THR)