This December, after a long, 13-year absence from screens, audiences will finally be able to return to Pandora as the long-delayed sequel to “Avatar” is complete. “Avatar: The Way of Water” will explore a new group of Na’vi that rely on the planet’s ocean life. However, the evil forces of the Resources Development Administration (RDA) have resumed stealing the planet’s resources by using military might backed by advanced technology, including soldiers with their own avatar bodies. Disney/20th Century Studios are expected to release three more sequels beyond this installment, with “Avatar 3” already shot. However, director James Cameron is already teasing more movies beyond “Avatar 5.”
Although it’s unlikely he’ll be able to direct them, Cameron has revealed to The Hollywood Reporter during a recent interview that he has some early plans for “Avatar 6” and “Avatar 7.” That is, if audiences and Disney still crave more movies after five installments, of course. However, it’s unclear if Cameron himself will be able to direct them, given his age, and he suggests potentially training his replacement on the franchise.
“I’d be 89 by then,” the 68-year-old filmmaker told THR of a sixth and seventh “Avatar” installment. “Obviously, I’m not going to be able to make ‘Avatar’ movies indefinitely, the amount of energy required,” Cameron continued. “I would have to train somebody how to do this because, I don’t care how smart you are as a director, you don’t know how to do this.”
Cameron has suggested ‘The Way of Water’ needs to make $2 billion to break even, and while that’s probably an exaggeration, he’s already suggested that “Avatar 3” is too far long, at this point, for the studio to cancel if the second movie doesn’t do gangbusters at the global box office.
“We’ll probably finish movie three regardless because it’s all shot,” he said. “We’d have to really crater for it not to seem like it was worth the additional investment. We’d have to leave a smoking hole in the ground. Now, hopefully, we get to tell the whole thing because five’s better than four, four’s better than three, and three’s better than two.”
“Avatar: The Way of Water” will hit theaters on December 16 and is needed to make an insane amount of money if it’s going to break even the top three-or-four highest-grossing films. This makes a six or seven-film plan seem very preposterous, but maybe that’s dreamer James Cameron for you. We’ll have to see how much more Pandora folks can’t withstand next month and if it can drum up the kind of box office numbers the first movie did.