Though he keeps hinting at the possibility of working on something outside of the ‘Avatar’ universe, it really does sound as if James Cameron will continue to make movies in that franchise until he decides it’s time to retire. With two films released and three more in various stages of development, there just doesn’t seem like there will ever be time for Cameron to venture outside of that universe. And you know what? He’s totally okay with that.
Speaking to People, James Cameron updated the status of the upcoming ‘Avatar’ sequels, as well as dropping news about two more films. In addition, he explained why he’s perfectly content with making ‘Avatar’ projects until he’s done with filmmaking.
Film fans already know about Cameron’s promise of making five ‘Avatar’ films, which means we have three more sequels pretty much guaranteed. However, in this new interview, he goes a step further and teases the possibility of two more ‘Avatar’ films after the planned sequels. Though, Cameron doesn’t believe he’s going to be behind the camera for those.
“We’re fully written through movie five, and I’ve got ideas for six and seven, although I’ll probably be handing the baton on at that point,” Cameron said. “I mean, mortality catches up. But I mean, we’re enjoying what we’re doing. We’re loving it. We get to work with great people.”
As for why he’s going to continue to make ‘Avatar’ films when so many people would like to see him try something else, Cameron thinks he’s in a privileged position with finding a franchise that really strikes a chord with people, and he’s not willing to step away from that.
“People are always asking us, ‘So why did you just keep working in the same…’” added Cameron. “Why did [‘Star Wars’ creator George] Lucas keep working in the same thing? Why did [‘Star Trek’ creator Gene] Roddenberry keep working in the same thing? Because when you connect with people, why would you squander that? Why would you start over with something else that might not connect?”
That is a really reasonable explanation, to be honest. It’s clearly not for money reasons because James Cameron has more money than he would probably know what to do with, and he’s also someone who has gone public with his frugal spending habits. (He drives a 2013 Kia, for Pete’s sake.) He’s a passionate man, and it’s obvious that his passion is dominated by the world of Pandora and the ‘Avatar’ franchise.
So, if you’re a fan of ‘Avatar’ and the idea of potentially five more films in that world (in addition to the various multimedia spinoffs) excites you, then you’re in luck. It appears James Cameron is sticking around Pandora for the foreseeable future.