‘Avatar 2’: Kate Winslet Trained to Hold Her Breath for 7 Minutes
James Cameron has been teasing his Avatar sequel for years, making a return to Pandora seem surreal and almost unattainable.
An expansion into this unique alien universe is finally happening. The ambitious project will venture into unexplored parts of the Avatar world and welcome new characters. Kate Winslet is in the cast lineup for part 2, and she recently revealed her intense training regimen for the upcoming film.
‘Avatar 2’ strengthened Kate Winslet’s lungs
Winslet is set to appear in Avatar 2 and 3 as Ronal, one of the Na’vi sea people. Like something out of a Navy Seal boot camp, Winslet underwent intense training in the water to learn how to suspend her breath. She spoke about it to The Hollywood Reporter in an August interview.
“I had to learn how to free-dive to play that role in Avatar, and that was just incredible. My longest breath hold was seven minutes and 14 seconds, like crazy, crazy stuff,” said Winslet. “Oh no, actually, I can’t. Yeah, I play a water person. I am a water person.”
The Avatar Twitter account posted a photo of her doing screen capture shots underwater for the film.
Cameron has been working on the film since at least 2017, and in an interview with Vanity Fair that year, said Winslet and other actors were perfecting their breath-holding technique. Winslet insisted on doing her own water work.
“We did a scene last week with six teenagers, well, actually five teenagers and one 7-year-old underwater holding their breath for a couple minutes and acting, actually doing a dialogue scene under water because they speak kind of a sign language,” Cameron said.
‘Avatar 2’ is finished filming
Cameron did a guest spot on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s vlog in September and revealed that Avatar 2 is finished, and Avatar 3 is nearly complete. They are shooting in New Zealand where COVID-19 rates are low.
As far as release dates, Avatar 2 has been pushed to December 2022, and the other three sequels are following in succession. Cameron filmed Avatar 3 at the same time as part 2.
“We’ve got about 10% left to go. We’re 100% complete on Avatar 2 and we’re sort of 95% complete on Avatar 3,” he said.
Release dates for the final three films are as follows: Avatar 3, Dec. 22, 2023; Avatar 4, Dec. 19, 2025; and Avatar 5 on Dec. 17, 2027.
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver are set to return, and the majority of the sequel will take place in Pandora’s ocean world.
With Winslet’s character, fans will be introduced to another tribe of Na’vi but there will also be a fierce new leader. Much of the movie will follow Jake and Neytiri’s children, but count on there being some infiltration from the human world.
The original Avatar was released in 2009 and shattered box office records. Fans can revisit the film by streaming it on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, or Disney+.
To keep up with the latest in Avatar updates and behind the scenes footage, hit the official Twitter account or Instagram page.
