Look, in the lead-up to “Avatar: The Way of Water,” I was a non-believer. I forgot the first rule of Hollywood blockbusters—Never doubt James Cameron. Of course, it didn’t matter that more than a decade had passed between the first film and the sequel. Of course, ‘Way of Water’ would become a cultural touchstone and an unbelievable box office success. So, as we start to hear about the complicated productions of the third and fourth films, and the ambition Cameron has, is there anyone ready to doubt him again? Likely not. Let this guy cook, and let’s all be amazed at what he produces.
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In a new interview with People, James Cameron not only breaks down the production of the third ‘Avatar’ film, but he explained how a time-jump in the story takes place after ‘Avatar 3,’ which complicated the way production will have to happen since he won’t be taking a six-year break between films. Remember, the new ‘Avatar’ films have kid actors, and even though Cameron is a wizard with VFX, it’s always better to have age-appropriate actors play those characters, which means he’s already shot some footage from the fourth film even if production hasn’t officially begun yet.
“We did the capture on three and the live-action photography on three as an intermingled production with [‘Avatar: The Way of Water’], and we even did part of movie four because our young characters are all going to have a big time jump in movie four,” Cameron explained. “We see them and then we go away for six years and we come back. And so the part where we come back is the part we haven’t shot yet. So we’ll start on that after three is released.”
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One of the benefits of knowing 20th Century Studios will be forking over whatever money is needed for as many ‘Avatar’ films as Cameron can come up with is the ability to start planning for the fourth film right as you release the second. This allows for the young actors from ‘Way of Water’ to look relatively the same in the second, third, and early part of the fourth films. Then when the time jump happens, you just shoot new footage and it’s all good.
What this also does is it shows just how generational Cameron is going with his ‘Avatar’ storytelling. The first film introduced our main characters, and the second film gave them a family. Now, as the films progress, it’s clear the new generation will begin to take a bigger role in the franchise.
But again, no matter how ambitious all of this sounds, no one in their right mind would ever doubt that it’ll be a huge success. James Cameron has earned our trust time after time. “Avatar 3” is expected to arrive on December 19, 2025.
