Following Avatar: The Way of Water's box office success, it looks like more Avatar sequels are on the way. That's according to director James Cameron, who previously gave some pretty steep requirements for the film's success.
Avatar: The Way of Water may be the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, but that doesn't mean its success was guaranteed. Making any Avatar film requires a lot of money, and the films take a long time to prepare due to the CGI-rich environment of Pandora. Cameron previously stated that the Avatar sequels would be cancelled if The Way of Water failed, but that no longer appears to be a serious concern.
The director was recently on Who's Talking to Christ Wallace? and said the sequel was on track to break even thanks to its $1 billion-plus haul. “It looks like just with the momentum that the film has now that will easily pass our break even in the next few days, so it looks like I can’t wiggle out of this, I’m gonna have to do these other sequels,” Cameron said. “I know what I’m going to be doing the next six or seven years. The point is we’re going to be okay. I’m sure that we’ll have a discussion soon with the top folks at Disney about the game plan going forward for Avatar 3, which is already in the can – we’ve already captured and photographed the whole film so we’re in extended post-production to do all that CG magic. And then Avatar 4 and 5 are both written. We even have some of 4 in the can. We’ve begun a franchise at this point. We’ve begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films.”
Cameron also clarified some of his remarks that were misconstrued in the media. “To clarify, I never actually gave it a number,” Cameron said. “I said it would have to be among the highest-grossing films in history and somebody else applied that number and it got picked up. The number is actually less.” While Avatar 3 was nearly a certainty, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 were not, though some of Avatar 4 is already fairly far along.
Cameron has already teased some plans for the rest of the saga, which he has described as a multi-generational story. The fourth Avatar will see a time jump following Act 1 of the film, which is why its first act has already been shot. Cameron wants to avoid the actors aging out of their roles, something he terms the "Stranger Things effect." Cameron also plans to bring the Na'vi to Earth in Avatar 5.
The rest of the saga will surely be just as action-packed and visually beautiful as the first two films. They will also potentially be more narratively rich. Cameron has already said that Avatar 3 will showcase a darker side to the Na'vi and a lighter side to the humans, making the conflict in the film grayer.
Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters.
Source: Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? (via The Hollywood Reporter)