After waiting for 13 years, we finally have a date with the sequel of James Cameron’s Avatar. Avatar: The Way of Water will take us back to the world of the Na’vis — which will perhaps be a very different world this time — when the film releases at cinemas in India on December 16. Here are three reasons why this long wait is going to be worth it for Avatar fans.

Return to Pandora and the stunning visuals

The sensorial setting of Pandora had blown our minds in Cameron’s 2009 film. Avatar was set in 2154 AD in Pandora, a moon of Polyphemus, located 4.3 light years from Earth. With the film’s main man, Jake Sully, we landed in the forest that is home to the Na’vis, where we met new life forms and got immersed in their lives. There were also banshees, wolf-like creatures, glowing wasps and Omaticaya, the tree of souls.

In Avatar: The Way of Water, the scene shifts to the underwater world of Pandora. The trailers have given us a glimpse of an array of aquatic animals — giant whale-like creatures called tulkuns; ilu, the Pandorian equivalent of skimwings; and a range of glowing reefs.

Following the astounding success of Avatar, Cameron is expected to go the extra mile for Avatar: The Way of Water. According to the makers, Cameron specifically designed the underwater mo-cap technology for these franchise films. A 900,000-gallon tank was created to film the underwater sequences in Avatar: The Way of Water. The performances of the actors were captured in real time, unlike in other films where actors are suspended from wires and water is added through CGI.

What happens next to Jake Sully and the Na’vis

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water will revolve around Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and their kids. Sigourney Weaver, who played Dr Grace Augustine in Avatar, returns as Jake and Neytiri’s daughter, Kiri. Kate Winslet joins the franchise in the role of a water-dwelling Na’vi warrior, Ronal.

In Avatar: The Way of Water, Jake and his family are forced to leave their home and explore new terrains. Trouble follows the family and they fight to keep each other safe. Jake will be faced with an old enemy in this film and launch a fresh war against the humans in order to save Pandora.

James Cameron is back on the big screen

Cameron is someone we can trust to push the envelope with every film, in terms of both storytelling and technology. The man behind classics like Aliens, The Terminator and Titanic gave a new spin to filmmaking with Avatar, and he’s certainly upped the ante with Avatar: The Way of Water, which he has developed over 13 years.

With Cameron, it’s also not a case of just casting a spell with cinematic magic; he’s invested in infusing his films with a strong social message too. Avatar was a statement against colonialism and the flip side of the all-consuming greed that drives capitalism. Going by the trailers and teasers of the new film, Cameron is going to make a strong case in favour of conserving nature in Avatar: The Way of Water.