“If I get hit by a bus…”: James Cameron Drops Huge Update on ‘Avatar’ Franchise’s Future After Teasing About Passing the Baton to a New Director

Veteran director James Cameron talked about the future of the Avatar franchise and changed his mind about not directing Avatar 4 and 5!

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Image by gage, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

SUMMARY

  • James Cameron created the world of Pandora when he released his iconic film Avatar.
  • In 2022, Cameron broke the record with Avatar: The Way of Water.
  • The director revealed that he would be directing Avatar 4 and 5 as well instead of passing the baton.
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James Cameron, the man known for creating iconic movies like Titanic and the Avatar franchise, has made some huge revelations about what the future holds for Pandora.

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James Cameron. | Credit: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons.
James Cameron. | Credit: Gage Skidmore/CCA BY SA 2.0/Wikimedia Commons.

Not exactly connected to what will happen on Pandora but the director has confirmed that he will be the only director who will direct Avatar 4 and 5. This seemingly contradicted his earlier statement that he might pass the baton to another trusted director.

James Cameron Changed His Mind

Releasing in 2009, Cameron made rapid breakthroughs in the creation of his iconic film Avatar. 13 years after the first film, the director released the second part of the franchise Avatar: The Way of Water.

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Zoe Saldaña in Avatar [Credit 20th Century Studios]
Zoe Saldaña in Avatar [Credit: 20th Century Studios]

With both films earning $2.9 and $2.3 billion respectively at the box office (via IMDB), this franchise wasn’t going to stop. Cameron confirmed that three sequels have already been greenlit and the work has started.

In recent reports, the next film is titled Avatar: Fire and Ash. In an interview with THR, Cameron stated that he would like to be the only director who would finish the Avatar franchise i.e., by directing Avatar 4 and 5.

I mean, they’re going to have to stop me. I got plenty of energy, love doing what I’m doing. Why would I not? And they’re written, by the way. 

He further continued,

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I just reread both of them about a month ago. They’re cracking stories. They’ve got to get made. Look, if I get hit by a bus and I’m in an iron lung, somebody else is going to do it.

And although the world couldn’t be happier about Cameron directing the rest of the franchise, there seems to be a little contradiction on the director’s part.

You see, in an earlier report, James Cameron had alleged that he would likely pass the baton to someone else since the director has a lot of creativity on his plate!

James Cameron Wanted To Pass The Baton To Someone Else

The report is over two years old. Upon the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron sat down for an interview with Empire to talk about the future of the franchise.

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A still from Avatar: Way of Water
A still from Avatar: Way of Water | TSG Entertainment

During his talks, the director was very unsure about directing Avatar 4 and 5. Stating that he had other projects that he would like to delve into, Cameron implied that he might just pass the baton to another director who he could trust with his franchise.

The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming. I think eventually over time — I don’t know if that’s after three or after four — I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in.

He ended the conversation by saying,

Or maybe not. I don’t know.

Well, it certainly seems that the director has made up his mind about the franchise’s future with his recent comments. The world couldn’t be happier with James Cameron’s decision since he has always been a visionary director.

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His most recent film, Avatar: The Way of Water received a rating of 7.5/10 on IMDB and a whopping 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. Earning billions of dollars at the global box office, the Avatar franchise is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

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Written by Visarg Acharya

Articles Published: 2333

Visarg Acharya, Associate Content Writer, has been heavily involved in movies, series, and history. Having an experience of 2 years in the field of content writing, Visarg is a seasoned writer. Having a degree in Physics, Visarg Acharya has published a dissertation alongside a plethora of poems and short stories along the way.