The first trailer for Avatar: The Way of Water has made us excited to return to Pandora and we reveal which composer is stepping up to the plate to score the music for the sequel.
James Cameron has confirmed there will be five Avatar movies in total, with one releasing every two years until 2028 – fans should expect some delays, however.
Directed by Cameron with a screenplay by Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver, Avatar: The Way of Water serves as the long-anticipated sequel to the 2009 feature, based on a story the writers created with Josh Friedman and Shame Salerno.
Avatar: The Way of Water | Official Teaser Trailer
Who is Avatar 2’s Composer?
The composer on board to score Avatar: The Way of Water is British-born Simon Franglen.
In addition to composing the music for movies The Magnificent Seven and The Curse of Turandot, Franglen has also contributed to the music department for Moulin Rouge!, The Amazing Spider-Man as an arranger and Spectre.
Furthermore, Franglen has also been confirmed to be composing the scores for Avatar 3, 4, and 5, which proves Cameron’s confidence in him.
Franglen is stepping in as the resident composer of the Avatar franchise after the tragic death of James Horner in 2015 after an aircraft accident.

Fans Pay Tribute to James Horner
Even though Avatar fans are happy to welcome Franglen to the franchise with his “dynamic range in recording masters,” many are paying tribute to Horner’s previous work on the first movie.
One user stated: “It’s such a damn shame we’ll never get to hear James Horner compose more new original Avatar music.”
Another was concerned Franglen would not be able to fill the void left behind by Horner, but if the trailer music is anything to go by, we’re in safe hands.
Avatar 2 Trailer Music Keeps ‘I See You’ Theme Song
Avatar’s theme song ‘I See You’ is performed by British singer Leona Lewis and the theme returns as a Versus Music remix throughout Avatar 2’s trailer music.
The song was written by Horner and Kuk Harrell with production by Simon Franglen for the 2009 movie, and the song has remained as the franchise’s official theme.
We also got a taste of Franglen’s score during the trailer, which appears to pack just as much emotion and memorable themes into the canvas as Horner.
By Jo Craig – [email protected]
Avatar: The Way of Water will release in theaters on December 16, 2022.