James Cameron, Jon Landau return to New Zealand for 'Avatar' restart

In preparation for the resumption of 'Avatar' film series, director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau arrived in Wellington, New Zealand on Sunday morning (local time).

According to Variety, some 54 passengers were on board a chartered Air New Zealand plane, departing Friday night from LAX, and flying for nearly 13 hours direct from Los Angeles to Wellington.

However, the movie's filming may not restart immediately. The inbound travellers will be subject to a 14-day quarantine period.

In an Instagram posting on May 22, Landau announced that the staff evacuated from New Zealand would be heading back to the country next week. He used the same medium on Sunday to announce their arrival.

Landau said: "Made it to New Zealand. Our 14-day government-supervised self-isolation now begins."

In mid-March, the production had been shut down when New Zealand began a strict lockdown in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and largely closed its borders.

In order to be allowed into the country at a time when borders are officially still closed Cameron, Landau and the foreign crew elements used a border exemption clause for foreigners considered of 'significant economic value.'

The films are already receiving money available under New Zealand's location subsidy scheme for large-scale foreign film and TV shoots. And by fulfilling several other conditions that leave an enduring legacy on the economy, the film also aims to receive a financial bonus, known locally as an 'uplift.'

The scale of the production covers all of the second and third films in the series and half of the fourth, and its use of indoor facilities for the entire movie. It means that 'Avatar' is making use of multiple studios in Wellington and Auckland.

A detailed set of guidelines has been elaborated for how productions should operate in the new era where COVID-19 cases are declining, but no vaccine yet exists.

A handful of local productions are understood to have restarted. With Cameron back in the country, 'Avatar' is on course to be the first foreign movie to use New Zealand's production protocols.

( With inputs from ANI )