James Cameron appeared to confirm there will be Avatar sequels after saying the latest film will generate the profit needed to continue the franchise.
The 68-year-old director joked about this week’s episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? on HBO Max that he “can’t bring himself to shake himself” from creating the last two Avatar films, as his latest film The Way Of The Water appeared to break even and became the highest-grossing film of 2022.
James said: “It looks like with the momentum the film has now, we’ll easily get through our hiatus over the next few days, so it looks like I can’t wriggle out and I will have to these other sequels.
Moving on: James Cameron appeared to confirm there will be Avatar sequels after saying the latest film will generate the profit needed to continue the franchise
The director added, “I know what I’m going to be doing for the next six or seven years.”
Previously, the filmmaker has made no secret of the astronomical cost of making the film, calling it “very bloody expensive.”
The director even said before the third installment was released that if the audience didn’t seem like there was “a shit,” he would end the entire franchise early.
Elsewhere on the HBO Max show, he referenced the misunderstanding over his comments about the profits needed by The Way Of Water.
More to come: The director joked that he couldn’t stay out of development on the last two Avatar films since his latest film The Way Of The Water (pictured) broke even
The director revealed he said the film had to be among the highest-grossing films in history to break even, Metro reported.
But he added that many would have taken his comments differently, thinking The Way Of Water would need to reach $2 billion (£1.65 billion) and be in the top 10 to break even.
James explained: ‘[I] never actually gave him a number. I said it had to be one of the highest grossing films in history and someone else applied for that number and it was chosen. The number is actually lower.”
He then added that he expects to have a discussion with Disney soon about what will happen with Avatar 3.
James continued, “We’ve already shot and photographed the entire film, so we’re in advanced post-production to do all that CG magic. And then Avatar 4 and 5 are written. We even have some of 4 in the can.’
Unbelievable sum: The largely computer-generated film has already grossed more than 1.5 billion US dollars worldwide since its theatrical debut on December 16th
It comes after Avatar: The Way Of Water became the highest-grossing film of 2022 last week.
The sequel surpassed the former champion, the monster hit Top Gun: Maverick, according to the latest box office numbers, according to Deadline.
The largely computer-generated film has grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide since its theatrical debut on December 16.
Top Gun: Maverick grossed $1.49 billion during its long theatrical run, which Avatar 2 is likely to emulate, and the film, starring Tom Cruise, broke streaming records on Paramount+ after debuting on the service December 22 .
Big Blow: Avatar: The Way Of Water earned $434.5 million during its worldwide debut, according to the studio’s estimates
Already the ninth highest-grossing film in international markets alone, Avatar 2 is now the top-grossing pandemic-era film in Europe, having surpassed Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Avatar: The Way Of Water has currently earned $454 million in domestic and over $1 billion in international markets.
While there were initial fears that the sci-fi film might run into trouble after its under-expected launch, that appears to have been because many viewers have been waiting to see it in premium-format cinemas, from many of which sold out over the opening weekend.
The film has shown impressive weekend-to-weekend staying power so far, and some analysts have suggested initial estimates were overblown.
The original Avatar grossed $2.92 billion worldwide, boosted by a theatrical re-release ahead of the new sequel’s launch.
It currently ranks as the highest-grossing film of all time when not adjusted for inflation, and the new sequel may have a chance to hit a similar peak.
Still Impressive: Top Gun: Maverick has grossed $1.49 billion during its long theatrical run, which Avatar 2 is likely to emulate; Tom Cruise pictured in the film
The new film follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his partner Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) as they move their family to another Na’vi tribe who live on the coast and spend most of their time in the sea, making Cameron underwater photographed to help develop the stunning visuals.
Last week James told French broadcaster 20 Minutes that the next sequel, which has already been filmed, will show a darker side of the alien race.
“Fire is represented by the ‘ash people’. I want to show the Na’vi from a different angle because so far I’ve only shown their good side,” explained Cameron.
“In the early films there are very negative human examples and very positive Na’vi examples. In Avatar 3, we’re doing the opposite,” Cameron said.
“We will also explore new worlds while continuing the story of the main characters,” he said. “I can say that the last parts will be the best. The others were an introduction, a way to set the table before the food was served.’
Avatar 3 is expected to be released on December 20, 2024.
More to come: Last week Cameron said the next sequel, which has already been filmed, will show a darker side of the extraterrestrial race