Unearthing Pandora, Part 1: Why 'Avatar' at Walt Disney World? How Imagineers made the connection - Inside the Magic

Comments for Unearthing Pandora, Part 1: Why ‘Avatar’ at Walt Disney World? How Imagineers made the connection

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  1. Don

    “The answer is that building Pandora at Walt Disney World has never been about “Avatar,” the movie, or its eventual sequels”
    So Disney didn’t want to ride on the financial success of the Avatar movie? They are ok the movie doesn’t resonate much in the public mind and they are happy to pay Cameron a hefty sum for the use of the ip? I find that hard to believe.
    I think Disney did a great job with the ip, maneuvering around the movie to make it it’s own thing, but I’m having a hard time they are happy about that.

    1. Ricky Brigante

      In the 5.5 year development cycle of this project, it’s obvious they had to make the theme park land fit no matter how well the Avatar franchise did moving forward. It was tremendously successful back when the deal was made, but since then it has obviously fallen off most people’s radar. There are more movies planned, but they keep getting bumped back. So Disney made the smartest move they could by setting the time period of their Pandora well beyond any movies Cameron may or may not ever make. This allows them to retro-fit the area as desired with elements of future movies, but in no way forces them to acknowledge them moving forward. They can simply let their Valley of Mo’ara exist as a remote part of Pandora that is never changed by whatever might transpire in any future Avatar films. And with this project almost complete, their sights are firmly fixed on the franchise that is continuing forward with great success: Star Wars.

      All of the above simply does not matter once you step inside Disney’s Pandora. There is just enough of “Avatar” there for those who did enjoy the film to get excited. But there is plenty to be enjoyed by the many who never had a connection to the film in the first place.

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