Avatar cast and crew returning to New Zealand to resume filming

The cast and crew of James Cameron's Avatar sequels are heading back to New Zealand to resume filming.

Production on the movies, starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, was shut down indefinitely in March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

And as producer Jon Landau took to social media on Thursday to reveal a new image of water vessels used in the movie, he confirmed that filming would begin again later this month.

"Our Avatar sets are ready - and we couldn't be more excited to be headed back to New Zealand next week," he wrote. "Check out the Matador, a high-speed forward command vessel (bottom) and the Picador jetboat (top) - can't wait to share more."

The Avatar sequels will be the first major films to resume production after almost all Hollywood movies were shut down in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, which has infected more than five million people worldwide since the outbreak began in December.

Filming the latest instalments in the sci-fi fantasy drama had alternated between studios in Auckland and Wellington, according to editors at Variety.

Staff at visual effects firm Weta Digital, which is based in Wellington, continued to work on the sequels during the shutdown.

Avatar 2, which also features Kate Winslet, Vin Diesel, David Thewlis, and Michelle Yeoh, is due to be released in December 2021, with three more sequels slated to hit cinemas in 2023, 2025, and 2027.