As film production grinds to a halt all over the world due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the infection has now even reached Pandora, with production shutting down, at least temporarily, on the four Avatar sequels from director James Cameron.

The franchise’s main producer, Jon Landau, told the New Zealand Herald (via Deadline) that while the series “had plans to come down [to New Zealand, where the franchise is shot] Friday night with a group of people and start back up and we made the decision to hold off.” The players instead remain in Los Angeles for the time being.

Landau gave no timetable for when production could start back up. “We’re in the midst of a global crisis,” he said, “and this is not about the film industry. I think everybody needs to do now whatever we can do, as we say here, to flatten the [coronavirus] curve.” Weta has continued to work on the Avatars’ special effects, at least for now.

The first of the Avatar sequels, which still doesn’t have an official title, is scheduled to open in theaters on December 17, 2021. Three more films are expected to follow, one every other December until 2027.

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