Cameron has always faced criticism for putting flair over substance, but his work occasions surprising depth of theme (I'm thinking primarily of The Abyss and Terminator 2). I imagine Avatar would aspire to the same quality. Anyone who had a chance to read the film's treatment before it was pulled off the internet knows the film has big ideas at the helm. The treatment, however, has already received criticism for pushing a heavy environmental message, a topic that’s played a big hand to a number of recent sci-fi films, and to varying results.
This is assuming, of course, the director sticks to his early treatment. Cameron wrote the outline more than a decade ago, and details inevitably get tweaked given that much time to simmer.
Besides, this is all just speculation anyway. Titanic's trailer played at ShoWest about eight months before its December 1997 premiere, if I remember right. Before then, many thought that film would earn a fate worse than its namesake. $601 million later, and the word “titanic” reclaimed its mojo.
The role a trailer plays in the success of a film can vary. Some excellent trailers build buzz for mediocre films; others can thrive with little promotion on the strength of the film alone. The absence of an Avatar trailer affords few clues as to the quality of the actual product. But a glimpse, even a small one, at a film that industry insiders claim will change the face of going to the movies, could only bode well.
Audiences like to get stoked, and getting stoked can only help the film. They say even bad publicity is good publicity, you know. No publicity, however, never worked for anyone.
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