The Grammy winner is headed to Pandora.
The Weeknd is about to become an honorary Na’vi.
It appears the Grammy winner, real name Abel Tesfaye, has penned new music for the Avatar: The Way of Water soundtrack. He teased a snippet of it on social media Sunday that featured the film’s logo, as well as a caption with the Dec. 16 theatrical release date.
The film’s official social media accounts reshared the post and, most notably, Jon Landau, who produced the original 2009 sci-fi epic and the forthcoming sequel, welcomed the musician to the Avatar family.
The extent of the Weeknd’s involvement in the soundtrack and film is not yet clear. Reps for the musician and Disney didn’t immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.
The first of four planned sequels from filmmaker James Cameron, The Way of Water will forego Pandora’s rainforest setting for the ocean. Original stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña will reprise their roles as Jake Scully and Neytiri, who have since built a life of their own as mates and now, parents to their children. The RDA (Resources Development Administration), the militarized organization that went to war with Pandora in the first film, however, remains a threat all these years later. Stephen Lang is also set to return as Col. Quaritch — this time in a Na’vi body.
Cameron views the sequels as “one big contiguous saga when you see it all, but each film has its own off-ramp and finale that rounds it all out,” he told EW last month. “The best metaphor is really good episodic TV. The key to The Way of Water is to get you on the side of the characters so you actually care about what happens next in their journey.” Now 15 years older, Cameron also teased that Jake and Neytiri have a different view on life.
“What we saw in the first film were people who were fearless,” Cameron said. “Jake would throw himself off his ikran onto a leonopteryx, but is a father of four going to do that? I’m thinking probably not, because they have a duty to survive. It doesn’t mean he’s a coward, but it means his priorities change. He’s trying to keep his kids alive and trying to adjust his own life.”
Avatar: The Way of Water arrives in theaters Dec. 16. Watch the trailer above.
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