Avatar 4 to be shot in Estonia; James Cameron says 'there's a connection' between Na'vi and Estonians

Hollywood director James Cameron is often regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of the current generation. With mega-budget movies like The Terminator, Titanic, Aliens, Avatar; and the following innumerable award nominations and wins, Cameron commands tremendous respect from cinegoers across the world. [caption id=“attachment_4415177” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Stills from James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar. Facebook[/caption] His 2009 film Avatar had set benchmarks in terms of innovation, special effects making it a visual extravaganza in the truest sense. The film won a bevy of awards including the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Visual Effects and Best Achievement in Art Direction. It is reported that the filmmaker is planning to shoot the fourth installment of the film in parts of Estonia, reports estonianworld.com. Cameron had reportedly bumped into an old friend who narrated Estonian folk tales and it is then when it occurred to him that there lies a connection between Estonian people and the fictional Na’vi tribe from his 2009 sci-fi animated film. “To be honest, I didn’t know anything about Estonia before – but hearing the stories on how for Estonians, their god was in nature, made me realise that there is an interesting connection between the fictional Naʼvi species in Avatar and Estonians. The Naʼvi way of life revolves around the Home tree. And the ancient Estonians had a god called Tharapita who was worshiped in forest groves. They also have old folk tales, in which the sins of humans resonate in nature – lakes fly away to punish greedy villagers, or forests wander off in the night, never to return,” adds the estonianworld.com report. Of what could be called a poetic justice, there also exists a certain Navi village in the southeastern part of Estonia where Cameron decides to shoot a major part of the film, as he feels “the surrounding area would also make a perfect filming spot”. _Also read: Avatar: Four sequels of James Cameron's film in the pipeline, one every Christmas from 2020_ While the sequels — Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 — are currently in the filming stage , Avatar 4 is due to release in 2024. The first film minted a staggering $2.8 billion after its release in 2009, states a boxofficemojo.com report.