James Cameron Talks “Brave Choices” Made For New ‘Avatar’ Film & Confirms 3-Hour Runtime

We are only just beginning 2025, but it’s time to look forward to the end of the year. That’s when the world will see the next installment in James Cameron’s epic ‘Avatar’ franchise, titled ‘Fire and Ash.’ And it’s definitely not too early to have the filmmaker talk about what he’s excited most about the third film in the franchise. 

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In a new interview with Empire, James Cameron talked about the upcoming “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which is arriving in theaters this December. First, he talked about how, after two films, the filmmaker is finally able to really expand the franchise and turn in something new.

“We’re just starting to riff on it and twist it and turn it,” Cameron explained. “It’s a tricky thing. We could be getting high on our own supply here, and everybody who looks at it goes, ‘Fuck, that’s not what I signed up for.’ But if you’re not making brave choices, you’re wasting everybody’s time and money. That alone is not sufficient to create success, but it’s necessary. You’ve got to break the mold every fricking time.”

The filmmaker also talked about where in the post-production process they’re in for the third film. Apparently, not only are they on track to get it done by December, but they’re actually “well ahead of the curve.” Oh yeah, and this film is definitely going to be three hours.

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“[‘Fire and Ash’ is] in strong shape, I think,” said Cameron. “We’ve doubled the number of shots finished at this stage of the game than we had on movie two [and] the films are about equal length. So that puts us well ahead of the curve, which is something I’ve never, frankly, experienced before.” 

We’ll have to wait and see if demand is still there for a new ‘Avatar’ film only three years after the second one. But again, we cannot doubt James Cameron. He’s earned the confidence.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” is expected to arrive in theaters on December 19.