FollowingAvatar: The Way of Water’s box office success, it looks like moreAvatarsequels 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 Watermay be the sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, but that doesn’t mean its success was guaranteed. Making anyAvatarfilm 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 theAvatarsequels would be cancelled ifThe Way of Waterfailed, but that no longer appears to be a serious concern.
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The director was recently onWho’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 forAvatar 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 thenAvatar 4and5are both written. We even have some of4in 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.” WhileAvatar 3was nearly a certainty,Avatar 4andAvatar 5were not, thoughsome ofAvatar 4is 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 fourthAvatarwill 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 Thingseffect." Cameron also plans tobring the Na’vi to Earth inAvatar 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 thatAvatar 3will showcase a darker side to the Na’viand a lighter side to the humans, making the conflict in the film grayer.
Avatar: The Way of Wateris now in theaters.
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