Zoe Saldana's Epic Response To Avatar Sequels' Delay: 'I'll Be 53 When Last Film Comes Out'

Looks like Avatar fans, who were keenly anticipating the release of the sequels, will now have to wait a little longer. On Tuesday, Disney reshuffled its release calendar announcing it has pushed ahead the premiere dates of several eagerly-awaited films. While the reason for the delays wasn’t specified, the fifth and final installment of the Avatar series is now scheduled to hit the theatres in 2031. Though the news must have been quite difficult for fans to digest, what’s making them laugh is the epic response of actress Zoe Saldana who plays the main female protagonist Neytiri in the franchise.

If the new timeline of the Avatar movies remains unchanged, Zoe Saldana will have a staggering 26-year career run of essaying her role. The actress who is also known for playing Gamora in MCU, reacted to the reshuffled calendar of Avatar movies on Instagram. She highlighted being 27 during the shooting of the first movie. She joked, “Great! I’m gonna be 53 when the last Avatar comes out. I was 27 when I shot the very first Avatar,” she said in her Instagram Stories.

If the age element is to be paid attention to, then the male protagonist San Worthington who plays Jake Sully will be 55, whereas director James Cameron will be 77 when the final Avatar film will hit the big screens. Notably, there are three more sequels of the franchise that fans eagerly await. The second installment Avatar: The Way of Water was released last December almost a decade after the original film, which became the highest-grossing movie of all time.

The third installment was originally planned to open in theatres in 2024, but now Avatar 3 is pushed ahead by a year. It is likely to hit the silver screens in December 2025. Likewise, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 will be released in 2029 and 2031 respectively. If the entire timeline of the franchise is to be estimated, it will take an astounding 22 years since the release of the first film for the franchise to meet its end. In the forthcoming sequel, James Cameron has plans to introduce a group of new villainous race of Navi people who possess a threat to Pandora.

Along with the Avatar franchise, Star Wars, and Marvel movies are among the significant projects whose calendar includes postponement.