Despite the smashing success that Avatar: Fire and Ash has proven to be in just under a month since its release, director and writer James Cameron’s confidence in the sequels seems to be waning. Thus, it seems like this is the reason he talked with EW about if those films don’t get made, he’ll just tell everyone how the story ends. He said:
Here’s what it is. If we don’t get to make 4 and 5, for whatever reason, I’ll hold a press conference and I’ll tell you what we were gonna do. How’s that?
However, with the record-breaking box office numbers the film has been pulling recently, it seems that the filmmaker has no reason to worry about his vision not coming to life completely. On the other hand, with so many projects that he aims to do outside of the franchise, it seems like Cameron just needs an excuse to take a step away from the Avatar franchise.
James Cameron Has Films to Work On Beyond the Avatar Franchise
A still from Avatar: Fire and Ash | Credits: Lightstorm Entertainment
While box office numbers prove to be good news for Avatar 4’s production, it also puts Cameron on the spot when it comes to his filmmaking commitments. For starters, the filmmaker was involved in the development of a Terminator animated series for Netflix, titled Terminator Zero, in addition to working on the Avatar franchise, which was released last year.
At the same time, he also took to his Facebook in June of this year to reveal how Lightstorm Entertainment acquired the rights to adapt author Joe Abercrombie’s novel, titled The Devils. The story is a dark fantasy that focuses on a group of monsters enlisted to serve and save Europe from flesh-eating elves.
Lastly, it was also reported last year that Lightstorm Entertainment had acquired the rights to adapt author Charles Pellegrino’s novel series, consisting of Last Train From Hiroshima and Ghosts of Hiroshima (via The Hollywood Reporter).
While no official updates have been provided about them recently, Cameron’s schedule might be free with Avatar 4’s production, considering some parts of the film have already been shot during the production of 2 and 3.
The Avatar Franchise Needs to Release the Sequels Quicker
Considering that Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 already have officially announced release dates by Disney, which are 2029 and 2031, respectively, this provides more certainty that these films will be made and released in the future.
What can prove to be a problem, though, is the time it’s taking for Lightstorm Entertainment to produce these films and release them. Following Way of Water’s 10-year-plus release window after the first one, while we saw it become one of the highest-grossing films of all time, we also witnessed a shift in public sentiment, suggesting that the franchise may start becoming obsolete in the future.
The same sentiment has now grown, where even Cameron has started to lose some confidence in the performance of Fire and Ash, courtesy of these long production and release cycles. Thus, if Disney wants to capitalise on the name of the franchise without seeing diminishing returns, they need to ramp up and conclude the series before the public starts losing interest.
Here’s more information on Avatar: Fire and Ash.
MovieAvatar: Fire and AshDirectorJames CameronMajor CastSam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate WinsletRotten Tomatoes Score66% | 90%Box Office$566 Million
Do you agree that the release window for the sequels needs to be expanded? Tell us in the comments below.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is screening in cinemas worldwide.
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