Sully and Neytiri Fight For Their Family in Stunning "Avatar: The Way of the Water" Trailer

Disney released the teaser trailer for "The Way of Water" on 9 May.

According to Empire Magazine, the current runtime for "Avatar: The Way of Water" is "coming in at around three hours." Director James Cameron defended the movie's long length in an interview with the outlet saying, "I don't want anybody whining about length when they sit and binge-watch [television] for eight hours . . . I've watched my kids sit and do five one-hour episodes in a row. Here's the big social paradigm shift that has to happen: it's okay to get up and go pee." On 28 Oct., The Hollywood Reporter cited unnamed sources who said the film is three hours and 10 minutes long.

The first "Avatar" film clocked in at two hours and 42 minutes, so the forthcoming sequel's runtime shouldn't be a huge surprise to viewers.

"Avatar: The Way of Water" premieres on 16 Dec. It has been delayed several times but finally has a firm release date. More sequels are scheduled to come out in the next few years as well, according to Newsweek. Disney has not announced yet when the film will be available to stream.

Much of the cast of the 2009 film are returning for "Avatar: The Way of Water," including Worthington as Jake Sully and Saldana as Neytiri. Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch is also returning for this film. We'll see some new faces, including Edie Falco, Kate Winslet, and Giovanni Ribisi. Weaver will also return, this time as the teenage daughter of Sully and Neytiri. Michelle Yeoh is also joining the "Avatar" franchise, but not in this movie; the actor signed on for the planned sequels, instead. Vin Diesel is also joining the "Avatar" family, though it's not clear if he'll appear in "Avatar 2" or future films.

"Avatar: The Way of Water," which is a 3D movie, will focus on the Sully family. The official synopsis of the film reveals the film takes place a decade after the first one and dives into the dangers and drama the Sullys are facing on Pandora and everything they go through to protect each other.

At CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April, producer Jon Landau was on hand to discuss the upcoming movie and its following sequels. "At the centre of each of the four sequels will be the Sully family," he said, according to Deadline. "Each story will be a stand-alone and each will come to its own conclusion," he said, adding that there will be a "fulfiling resolution to each film, but when looked at as a whole the journey across all four will create a larger epic saga."