How much unobtanium do we think that Avatar: The Way of Water had to mine in order to cut this deal? On December 4, the Weeknd tweeted a short clip that hints that he’ll appear on the Avatar 2 soundtrack. The 12-second video included background vocals, a cerulean letter A with a bird in the middle, and a December 16 release date (the same day that the long-awaited sequel hits theaters). Shortly after the singer posted the teaser, Avatar’s official account followed him, and Avatar producer Jon Landau shared a photo to welcome him to “the Avatar family.†But it turns out we didn’t have to wait until December 16 — the song’s here now.
The musical collaboration, co-produced by Swedish House Mafia and Simon Franglen, was confirmed on December 7 with the release of a new trailer featuring the Weeknd’s “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength).†But we like to imagine that in some alternate universe he is actually joining Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet in the cast. The Na’vi have warriors, and they could have pop stars, too. It’s called range. Besides, the Montrr (look it up) has a nice ring to it. Listen to “The Way of the Weeknd Water†below.
This post has been updated.