James Cameron Might be Ready to Move On From 'Avatar'

Although Disney has already scheduled the fourth and fifth Avatar films for 2029 and 2031, respectively, director James Cameron is willing to leave the franchise before even producing those sequels. The filmmaker revealed that he wants to explore new stories and that the future chapters of the saga are not his priority right now, mainly because of the high cost and lengthy production time. Since Disney is not contractually obligated to move forward with the two films, the possibility is now being considered.

In an interview given while receiving the Governor General’s Award of Canada, Cameron said he is rethinking the direction of his career. According to him, the Avatar universe has occupied his life for more than two decades, and the time has come to assess which stories he still wants to tell.

"The Avatar universe has been in constant motion for 21 years. This is the moment when I’m looking at the landscape and asking myself, ‘What other stories do I want to tell? How many of them do I need to direct, rather than just write or produce with other filmmakers?’", he explained.

The director also said that he has created a criterion for deciding his next projects: the impact they can have on the world.

"The question I put at the top of the list was: ‘What will bring the most benefit?’ Then I started looking at all the projects I like most and asking: ‘How will this improve our condition? How will this make the world a better place for our children?’", he revealed.

Despite these reflections, Cameron said he still has not made a final decision about the future.

"I still haven’t made any decision. I’m in that state of planning the final act of my career. And I don’t know whether that final act will last one year or 20 years," he said.

In recent months, the filmmaker had already signaled that the franchise needed to change scale. At the time, he said that the Avatar films are "too big, too expensive, and take too long to keep being made the same way." The statements come after Avatar: Fire and Ash grossed around $1.49 billion at the worldwide box office—an impressive result, but below the previous chapters—while each production continues to require investments exceeding $400 million.