It’s been well over a decade since James Cameron unleashed the behemoth known as “Avatar” on the film industry. At the time, the film shattered nearly every box office record on its way to a massive $2.74 billion worldwide gross (the film has gone on to be released a couple of times, putting that total up to $2.85 billion). But that was years ago and the landscape of the film distribution industry has changed drastically over that time. And as such, the filmmaker is well aware his upcoming “Avatar” sequel likely won’t reach the heights of the original.
Speaking to Empire (via /Film), James Cameron spoke bluntly about the reality of releasing an “Avatar” sequel in 2022. That is to say, he understands that the market has changed, and he’s not expecting to outdo the record-breaking success of the original.
“‘Avatar’ played eight to 80,” said Cameron about the success of the original with a wide variety of audiences. However, he questioned, does “the audience still even exist at that scale?”
So, as far as expectations for the upcoming sequel, titled “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Cameron is hoping for the best, but he’s realistic about it maybe not happening.
“If we did 20 percent or 30 percent less because the market simply doesn’t exist anymore, that would be bad,” he admitted.
(Note: Interestingly, the quotes above that appear on /Film’s piece are missing from the Empire interview now. Perhaps, they were scrubbed from the piece after publication? We’re not sure.)
READ MORE: James Cameron Says He May Not Direct ‘Avatar 4’ & ‘5’ Himself
Regardless of the financial outcome, Cameron doesn’t believe the “trolls” will have any major effect. And by “trolls,” he’s talking about the naysayers who are constantly saying that the sequels are a decade late and people have forgotten about their love of “Avatar.” (Admittedly, by this definition, I’d have to include myself in this group. Sorry, Mr. Cameron.)
“The trolls will have it that nobody gives a shit and they can’t remember the characters’ names or one damn thing that happened in the movie,” Cameron stated. “Then they see the movie again and go, ‘Oh, okay, excuse me, let me just shut the fuck up right now.’ So I’m not worried about that.”
Another thing he’s not worried about is the length of ‘Way of Water.’ The film is expected to clock in around three hours in length. When “Avengers: Endgame” was released in 2019, a lot of speculation about the run-time was discussed and whether or not that would negatively affect the audience’s enthusiasm. Cameron thinks that’s hogwash and believes that audiences shouldn’t be concerned about taking a pee break.
“I don’t want anybody whining about length when they sit and binge-watch [television] for eight hours,” he said. “I can almost write this part of the review. ‘The agonizingly long three-hour movie…’ It’s like, give me a fucking break. I’ve watched my kids sit and do five one-hour episodes in a row. Here’s the big social paradigm shift that has to happen: it’s okay to get up and go pee.”
Audiences should prepare their bladders when “Avatar: The Way of Water” hits theaters on December 16.