Will ‘Avatar’ Be Back on Disney+ Before the Sequel Premieres?

It’s been 13 years since James Cameron took the world by storm with his visually stunning movie, Avatar. The film starred Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, and Sigourney Weaver, and told the story of Jake Sully (Worthington), a paraplegic Marine who comes to the moon of Pandora to work for Dr. Grace Augustine (Weaver). While there, Sully becomes an Avatar — a human/Na’vi hybrid he controls with his mind. He learns the Na’vi ways and risks his life to protect them from humans who want to destroy their home and their species.

Credit: 20th Century

Avatar is one of the most successful movies of all-time, and fans have been waiting years for a sequel to come out. Finally, earlier this year, Disney — which now owns the franchise — announced that the Avatar sequel will be coming to theaters this December. The film will be called Avatar: The Way of Water and will be released on December 16.

Credit: 20th Century Studios

In anticipation of the sequel’s release, Disney will be releasing the original Avatar in theaters on September 23. Because of the rerelease, Disney has removed Avatar from its streaming platform, Disney+. That has many asking, “Will Avatar be back on Disney+ and available to stream before Avatar: The Way of Water comes out in December?” The answer is yes.

Credit: 20th Century

Variety spoke to sources who confirmed that the movie would be back on Disney+ before December 16. According to Variety:

Sources confirmed the removal to Variety and attributed it to the upcoming theatrical re-release of the 2009 sci-fi epic. Set for Sept. 23, the theatrical re-release, intended to promote the film’s long awaited sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water,” will present the movie in new, 4K high-dynamic range restoration. The original “Avatar” will have a limited, two-week run.

While the news might be annoying for fans who wanted to watch “Avatar” from the comfort of their homes, the film’s absence won’t be for very long. Sources confirmed that the film will return to Disney+ at an unspecified time before Dec. 16 — the release date for “The Way of Water.” In the meantime, the film remains available via rental services, including Youtube, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

Credit: 20th Century

In addition to sharing that Avatar: The Way of Water will be released on December 16, 2022, Disney also shared the release dates for 3 more Avatar movies. Avatar 3 will be released on December 20, 2024, Avatar 4 will follow on December 18, 2026, and Avatar 5 will come out on December 22, 2028. James Cameron has directed Avatar: The Way of Water, as well as Avatar 3, but shared that he may not direct Avatar 4 or Avatar 5.