It’s been maybe eight years since director James Cameron topped himself at the box-office to the tune of nearly 2.8 billion dollars with the hit film, Avatar. We’ve yet to see a sequel but 20th century Fox is ramping up four sequels to be released almost every other year from 2018 through 2023, which leaves us off another two years before the next film – That’s close to a decade’s worth of waiting which should hopefully grant our dear director enough time to plot just how he’s going to make 10 billion more dollars by the time Avatar 5 rolls around lest there be any franchise fatigue (it’s not impossible).
So, of course this is going to take some serious work and that’s not saying Cameron hasn’t been busy, no-no. It’s been very much the opposite on top of what he also has going with filmmaker Robert Rodriguez on the upcoming anime adaptation, Alita: Battle Angel. Avatar, starring Sam Worthington and Zoë Saldana was not only the start of a franchise, but the root of a sprawling new creative space for a story epic enough to grow from, and it’s currently doing so through some of today’s technology with advancements in immersive digital world-building and such. Personally I’m never around this sort of stuff except for in the movies but I can imagine how entertaining it must be to be such a big deal for many.
At any rate, it won’t be long before we end up stuffing our movie-going schedules between all that’s happening in comic book movies with Avatar fanfare, and it looks like next generation storytelling platform, SapientNitro is getting its feet sunk in just in time to service fans.
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SapientNitro today announced a multi-year partnership with James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment and 20th Century Fox to develop a next-generation digital experience to immerse current and future fans in the world of Avatar. This new ecosystem, designed to link all aspects of the Avatar story world with the four sequels currently in development, will launch in support of the next film and grow with each release.
“We are extremely proud to collaborate with Lightstorm Entertainment and 20th Century Fox to help reinvent the digital experience for Avatar and give fans the opportunity to ignite and sustain their passion for the franchise.”
“With the first Avatar film, we created a world and story that immersed and inspired fans – as we move on to the sequels, we want to enhance that experience through this new digital vision,” said Jon Landau, Avatar producer and Chief Operating Officer, Lightstorm Entertainment. “We are pleased to partner with SapientNitro to help our millions of fans around the globe explore the themes of the Avatar films and connect with the world of Pandora in a deeper, more meaningful and more personalized way.”
“In building this digital world, we wanted to create a fan experience that was unlike anything that has ever been done before,” said John Herbert, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, 20th Century Fox. “SapientNitro is known for their ability to combine story and technology in a boundary-breaking way, making them an ideal partner to help us create a world where our fans’ imaginations can run wild.”
The digital platform, intended to support the Avatar franchise through the release of the sequels and beyond, will create an enduring world that extends the traditional movie-going experience and integrates the franchise’s extensive partner and licensing relationships. The platform, which will leverage SapientNitro’s advanced analytics capabilities to fully optimize the fan experience, will be developed in collaboration with the project’s official technology partner, Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
“With this project, we have set out to create a digital world that captures the emotional power and energy of Avatar and takes the fan experience to a new level,” said Alan Wexler, Chief Executive Officer, SapientNitro. “We are extremely proud to collaborate with Lightstorm Entertainment and 20th Century Fox to help reinvent the digital experience for Avatar and give fans the opportunity to ignite and sustain their passion for the franchise.”
Released in 2009, the first Avatar film generated a global box office revenue of $2.8 billion with more than 190 million tickets sold, and subsequent DVD and video-on-demand sales of more than 50 million worldwide. The Avatar global franchise continues to grow with four sequels in development.