Disney+ Has Totally Changed One Thing About Avatar That Was Mocked After Release

Avatar Jake and Neytiri in the forest at night

CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.

Next year, the world is supposed to see the next installment of James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, with Avatar 2 set to make itself known to the world in December 2021. Of course, that could change, as the production on the three of the sequels has shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What has definitely change, though, is that Avatar’s listing on Disney+ has officially adopted the newer styling of the title, further distancing the big budget blockbuster from the font “Papyrus.”

It was noted by The Independent that upon the recent UK launch of Disney+, the title card for the film’s entry in the streaming library was changed to reflect the newer look that that the Avatar series has adopted in its push to marketing the eventual sequels. If you’re a US subscriber, you can see this change as well, as Disney+’s Avatar page looks like this:

Avatar Disney+ title card

Originally, upon the film’s 2009 release, Avatar used the font “Papyrus” for its title, which looked like this:

Avatar original title font

As a new logo was whipped up, with an “A” that includes one of the flying creatures from the world of Avatar in the center, the somewhat troubled past of the movie’s logo can now be laid to rest. At least, for anyone who doesn’t still own any of the original paraphernalia or advertising from the original film’s theatrical run.

The issue reached a fever pitch back in 2017 when SNL ran a sketch with Ryan Gosling that dinged the former record holder for the highest grossing film in history for its supposedly lazy choice of font. Which, of course, resulted in even the font’s designer reflecting on the wider pattern of that particular style of font being used for quite a wide range of other projects.

That sketch, which is too funny not to be included, can be seen below:

In a world where Disney+ is still launching gradually throughout the world, there have been quite a few changes noticed in this new digital library. We’re not just talking about Avatar’s title font either, as we’ve seen jokes from The Simpsons cropped out of episodes because of aspect ratio issues, as well as a whole scene in Lilo and Stitch changing the door of a dryer into a pizza box.

While it doesn’t change the content of the film, Avatar’s big switcharoo in title cards does continue to bode well for Disney’s long haul approach to the series at large. Which means that should that planned theatrical re-release of the original film occur, as well as any sort of home video reissue in formats like 4K UHD, you can probably bet that the new stylization will officially welcome this title into the Disney fold.

Avatar 2 is scheduled to hit theaters, for the moment, on December 17, 2021. However, should you want to see the same old Avatar being released under a brand new title banner, you can watch that film on Disney+. Don’t have a subscription yet? Try a 7-day free trial, and see what the world of this fairly new streaming provided can do for you!

Mike Reyes
Senior Movies Contributor

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.