Will there be Avatar’ 3, 4 & 5 movies be made?

James Cameron Says He May Not Direct ‘Avatar’4 or 5

As the world eagerly awaits the December premiere of Avatar: The Way Of Water, James Cameron’s sequel to the highest-grossing movie ever, comes word that Cameron may not direct the later two planned films in the series himself.

“The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming,” Cameron tells Empire in an interview. “I’ve got some other things I’m developing as well that are exciting. 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. Or maybe not. I don’t know.”

His enthusiasm is strong, however for the upcoming films.

“Everything I need to say about family, about sustainability, about climate, about the natural world, the themes that are important to me in real life and in my cinematic life, I can say on this canvas,” Cameron said. “I got more excited as I went along. Movie four is a corker. It’s a motherfucker. I actually hope I get to make it. But it depends on market forces. Three is in the can so it’s coming out regardless. I really hope that we get to make four and five because it’s one big story, ultimately.”

Cameron previously tapped Robert Rodriguez to helm Alita: Battle Angel, a film he had long planned to adapt for the screen and that fans of the graphic novel it was based on, had hoped he would direct. Cameron was too busy with the Avatar films at the time, but remained on board as executive producer and co-writer.

Avatar: The Way Of Water is set more than a decade after the events of the first film. It follows the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

Avatar 3 is an upcoming American epic science fiction film directed, со-produced, co-written, and co-edited by James Cameron. It is the second of four planned sequels to his film Avatar (2009) and will be the sequel to Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), making it the third film in Cameron’s Avatar franchise. Cameron is producing the film with Jon Landau, with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver originally announced as his co-writers; it was later announced that Cameron, Jaffa, Silver, Josh Friedman, and Shane Salerno took a part in the writing process of all of the sequels before being assigned to finish the separate scripts, making the eventual writing credits unclear. Cast members Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Dileep Rao, Giovanni Ribisi, and Matt Gerald are all expected to return from the first two films. Reprising their roles from the second film are Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, and Oona Chaplin.

Cameron, who had stated in 2006 that he would like to make sequels to Avatar if it was successful, announced the first two sequels in 2010 following the widespread success of the first film, with Avatar 3 aiming for a 2015 release. However, the addition of three more sequels (to the first one), and the necessity to develop new technology in order to film performance capture scenes underwater, a feat never accomplished before, led to significant delays to allow the crew more time to work on the writing, pre-production, and visual effects. Avatar 3 started shooting simultaneously with Avatar: The Way of Water in New Zealand on September 25, 2017; filming completed in late-December 2020, after over three years of shooting, despite production being interrupted due to the pandemic.

The sequel also stars Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Oona Chaplin, Jermaine Clement, among others.

The four sequels to Avatar are scheduled to be released in 2023, 2024, 2026, and 2028, respectively. The second film in the franchise is ready for release in 2022, after 13 years since the first film. Avatar: The Way Of Water will feature Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi and Kate Winslet in the main cast.

Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters globally on December 16, 2022.