Avatar Removed From Disney Plus With No Warning

James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi film Avatar has been quietly removed from Disney Plus ahead of the movie's re-release in theaters next month. Via Collider, Disney's choice to remove the film from the streaming service is most likely a purposeful tactic to encourage people to head back to the theater.

Disney is bringing Avatar back to theaters this September ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water's release in December. Considering it's been more than a decade since Avatar was originally released, some might be interested in watching it again ahead of the long-awaited sequel's release.

The removal of Avatar from Disney+ didn't land so well with everyone, as some see it as an icky move, especially considering Disney did not inform subscribers of its removal ahead of time.

Avatar is the highest-grossing movie in history with $2.8 billion worldwide, not adjusted for inflation. Marvel's Avengers: Endgame ranks second with $2.79 billion, while Cameron's Titanic comes in third all time with $2.2 billion.

The re-release of Avatar hits theaters on September 23, while The Way of Water premieres on December 16. There is no word as of yet as to when Avatar might come back to Disney Plus, if it ever does.

The Way of Water brings back Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, and Giovanni Ribisi. Sigourney Weaver is also coming back, but in a new role, considering her character in the original Avatar died. Avatar 3 was filmed back-to-back with The Way of Water, and stories are written for Avatar 4 and 5, but whether or not they get made will depend on how well The Way of Water performs.

In other Avatar news, Ubisoft's new video game, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, has been delayed.