It’s finally time to return to Pandora [D23]

We’ve already glimpsed this return to the world of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and the Na’vi via the film’s visually arresting first trailer – and recently released concept art as seen above – but several new snippets of scenes were screened just for D23 audiences today. Here’s what we saw.

The first scene seems designed to show off all of that gorgeous aquatic animation that Cameron’s team has been working on. It follows a group of children – the children of Jake and Neytiri – playing in the seas of Pandora, admiring the wonders of creatures resembling stingrays, squids, puffer fish and more. The footage shows awesome 3D and incredible CGI, even though it’s just kids swimming. “Come swim with us,” one girl waves to the others, and they sink deeper underwater, past Pandora’s corals and teeming sea life.

The second sequence reintroduces Sigourney Weaver’s Grace, who appears on a holo screen talking about the Na’vi. In a laboratory environment, Na’vi children jump onto a tank and look at the Na’vi body inside. “Hi mum,” we say, hugging the glass. The group, which includes a human boy, then gossip about a character’s parentage, with a teenage Na’vi asking, “Who do you think impregnated her?” After some speculation, the human boy said, “Sometimes it’s not great to know who your father is.” The children all look at him, worried. Could this outcast be Quarritch’s son?