On what date did filming begin for Avatar: Fire and Ash and The Way of Water?

Filming for Avatar: Fire and Ash and Avatar: The Way of Water began on September 25, 2017.

Principal photography began simultaneously in Manhattan Beach, California, as James Cameron’s production team worked on the two sequels together. This approach allowed the filmmakers to capture performances and scenes involving the young cast across multiple films while the actors were still close in age to their characters.

The date is easy to confuse with later milestones. Performance-capture filming with the principal cast was announced as complete on November 14, 2018, while live-action filming in New Zealand began in early 2019. Production was later delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and filming eventually resumed after New Zealand introduced safety protocols. Thus, June 1, 2020, marked a return to New Zealand activity rather than the start of the project.