Posted in: Movies | Tagged: avatar, james cameron, mortal engines, peter jackson

Peter Jackson's Mortal Engines To Release One Week Before Likely Avatar Sequel

Published Fri, 25 Nov 2016 17:15:51 -0600

Yesterday, we learned that an untitled James Cameron movie, believed to possibly be the long-awaited sequel to Avatar, will be released on December 21, 2018. The sequel to the highest grossing movie of all time might seem discouraging for any movie looking to compete with it, but that hasn't stopped Universal from slating Peter Jackson's Mortal Engines for the week before, on December 14, according to a report from Deadline. Is Universal banking on Mortal Engines making enough money in its first weekend to turn a profit, and then coasting by on ticket sales from people who couldn't get in to Avatar 2 because all the shows are sold out? Or do they simply believe Avatar was a fluke, with the interests of the world's moviegoers simultaneously converging on a remake of Disney's Pocahontas but with more furry porn for a fleeting moment in time that can never be reproduced?

Whatever the case, Mortal Engines will have its work cut out for it. The film is set in a dystopian future where "Earth's cities now roam the globe on huge wheels, battling each other in a struggle for ever diminishing resources," but by the time the film is released two years into Donald Trump's presidency, it may simply be an accurate depiction of current events. Jackson and Fran Walsh are producing and have co-written the screenplay, while Christian Rivers will direct, based on a Scholastic book series by Philip Reeve.