‘Why do we keep doing this?’: Avatar fans complain amid reports of The Way of Water’s huge runtime

‘More like Avatar: The Way Too Long Movie,’ quipped one person

A rumoured runtime for Avatar: The Way of Water is circulating on social media... and it’s long.

The release of the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron’s record-breaking 2009 blockbuster Avatar is finally in sight, with a premiere set for December 2022.

Avatar featured a runtime of two hours and 42 minutes, prompting many fans to speculate that the sequel would be similarly long.

While an official runtime has yet to be announced, a new report by Deadline claims that The Way of Water will in fact last longer than three hours.

Fans shared their reaction to the news on social media, with many arguing that the film’s length would be excessive.

“Why do we keep doing this? Movies are already too long!” wrote @ParkerOrtolani

“More like Avatar: The Way Too Long Movie am I right guys,” another Twitter user joked.

“I know that runtime doesn’t dictate quality, but come on... that’s way too long,” someone else commented. “Especially since it’s the first of FOUR sequels.

“I’m not going to disparage it before it’s been released, but I do appreciate movies that are effective in less time.”

“Holy f***,” another person wrote. “That is way too long. I can do it for [Avengers: Endgame], but not for Avatar.”

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is out in cinemas this December (20th Century Studios)

Others compared the length to Damien Chazelle’s forthcoming epic Babylon, which was recently confirmed to have a three hour and 10 minute runtime.

“Avatar and Babylon competing to see which 3+ hour movie will have the most people complaining about how they’re too long,” one person quipped.

Some people, however, defended the prospect of a three-hour Avatar movie.

“Remember when everyone was complaining about movies being too long yesterday? I agreed then but now i dont. James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water can be as long as it wants to be,” one person wrote.

Avatar: The Way of Water is released in cinemas on 16 December.