Avatar came out in 2009 and took the world by surprise at just how far technology had come. It showed everyone (whether they were in the industry or audience) what levels CGI could be taken to. In 2021, it's no big deal when a movie is mostly computer-generated, but many would argue that Avatar is the film that gave way for every film that followed it to push technology further than before. James Cameron said that this was a movie that he had been planning, creating, and waiting to make for years. What held him up for so long?
Cameron wanted to wait for more advances in technology to be made. It had been twelve years since his last movie Titanic, other than two documentaries both related to deep-sea exploration, had been released. Cameron had been developing Avatar since 1994—three years before Titanic was released. When viewers think about how long it's been since a sequel (and multiple sequels for that matter) were promised, it's easy to get frustrated by the wait. But considering how Avatar took fifteen years to make, and was the only film popular enough to beat out his last film Titanic until Avengers: Endgame in July of 2019, it makes sense that the filmmaker wants to take his time in getting everything right.
The director could be waiting for even more advances in technology, but could also have been waiting to get funding for the film as well as funding for a possible third and fourth film. James Cameron has been open about whether or not there actually will be a third or fourth film, something he says depends on the success of the sequel that is supposed to be released on December 16, 2022. But given his history, Cameron doesn't make a film unless it's his perfect vision, and no one should doubt him based on his proven success.
Avengers: Endgame was the only film to have beaten a James Cameron film in the box office since 1997, although Titanic was re-released twice. In 2012, when Titanic was re-released for the first time, it became the second film ever to have made more than $2 billion, the other one, of course, being Cameron's Avatar. But when Avatar was re-released in theaters in China, it once again took the number one spot as the highest-grossing film ever made.
Avatar has done very well in China, as it is one of the country's most well-liked movies. So when it was re-released, many who were too young to appreciate it when it was initially released took the opportunity to see it again on the big screen and bring their families too. Despite the popularity of James Cameron's most successful films, many say that Avatar is overrated. And although the same could be said for Avengers: Endgame, is it actually?
Avatar is almost like a senior citizen, in that it's now a little outdated, but people still respect it for what it has accomplished. The CGI is by no means bad, but there have been more advances in technology that would allow for a better Avatar movie. Avatar is a subtle narrative about climate change and the effects it has on the Earth. In the not too distant future, humans have used up all of Earth's resources. They travel to an alien moon planet inhabited by creatures known as the Na'vi. James Cameron said that Avatar is sort of a metaphor for the way that mankind treats the Earth. The movie shows how humans treat the moon planet known as Pandora as if it is just a place to mine materials and not a home to thousands of living creatures.
The military and scientific teams scour through Pandora in search of unobtanium, wrecking the land and nature without care for it or those who call it home. This could likewise be seen as a metaphor of American history and the conquest of land, as well as genocide of those indigenous to the land. Both metaphors make the narrative of Avatar very interesting and inspiring. James Cameron himself is an environmental activist as well as a vegan of several years. He even is working with Peter Jackson to begin a plant-based meat factory business in New Zealand to help with the country's failing farming business, so that it doesn't have to rely on expensive and harmful resources and can turn to a more Earth-friendly, sustainable future.
Because unobtanium is highly valuable and therefore highly profitable, the RDA has discouraged those on Earth to find alternatives to energy so that they could continue to profit. The same could be said of real life such as with gasoline for machinery instead of a cheaper, cleaner alternative. Avatar has a really great message, and definitely deserves a sequel or two or three. Although Avengers: Endgame has an important message about cherishing time, James Cameron's movie has a more pressing message about standing together to find a way to live sustainably and care for all those who live on Earth.