The Australian premiere of Avatar: Fire and Ash has been canceled following the deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday.
The screening was scheduled to take place Monday at IMAX Sydney, with director James Cameron and star Sam Worthington also expected to attend a press junket.
Hours before the event, however, organizers told several outlets that it had been canceled.
“Out of deep respect for the victims of the Bondi shooting, the planned Avatar: Fire and Ash premiere event today in Sydney has been cancelled,” read the statement. “Our hearts are with the community, the victims, their families and loved ones.”
On Sunday night, two gunmen opened fire at a Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was an act of antisemitic terrorism.
Albanese said it was “a targeted attack on Jewish Australians on the first day of Hanukkah, which should be a day of joy, a celebration of faith.”
He added: “An act of evil, antisemitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation, an attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian, and every Australian tonight will be like me, devastated by this attack on our way of life.”
“There is no place for this hate, violence and terrorism in our nation. Let me be clear, we will eradicate it,” he said.
Authorities have said that the two suspected shooters were father and son. The older gunman, Sajid Akram, 50, was killed at the scene by police, while his son, Naveed, suffered critical injuries and was taken to the hospital.
Albanese said that Naveed had previously been investigated in 2019 over links to a Sydney-based Islamic State terrorism cell.
Counter terrorism police believe the father-son duo had pledged allegiance to the terror group, according to ABC. Two Isis flags were reportedly found in their car.
Albanese has said there is “no evidence” that the pair are linked to Isis and acted as lone agents.
The 15 victims were aged between 10 and 87. The oldest was a Holocaust survivor named Alex Kleytman, and the youngest was a 10-year-old girl named Matilda.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third sequel in Cameron’s action sci-fi epic. It comes three years after the release of Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), the belated sequel to the 2009 blockbuster Avatar.
The new film picks up immediately after the events of the second, which saw human Jake Sully (Worthington) embracing his new life in Pandora with Netriyi (Zoe Saldaña), a member of the indigenous Na’vi tribe, and their children. After a threat resurfaces, forcing them to flee their home, they must band together with another Na’vi tribe to fight against the humans.
Avatar: Fire and Ash will be released in theaters December 19.
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