James Cameron has been so involved in the world of Pandora that the last feature film he made outside the Avatar franchise was Titanic, released almost 30 years ago. So what does the future hold for the legendary director?
During a recent interview, Cameron said he’s been considering what types of “other stories” he wants to tell outside the Avatar franchise and even revealed that he’s been mapping out the “last act” of his career.
James Cameron on His Future
“That’s the question of the hour for me,” Cameron said. “There’s been momentum in the Avatar universe for 21 years at this point because we started in 2005. I took a little time off to build a submersible and dive to the deepest spot on the planet, as you do, but I came back to Avatar after that. And it’s been kind of an unbroken continuum.”
He continued:
“So this is the point where I’m looking at the landscape and asking, ‘What are the other stories I want to tell? How many of them do I need to direct myself versus writing and/or producing with other filmmakers?’”
“The criterion — I’ve literally mapped this out for myself over the last two weeks — I started with, ‘What will do the most good?’ I put that in block letters at the top,” Cameron said. “And I started looking at all the projects I’m most fond of, asking, ‘How’s this going to improve our condition? How’s that going to make the world better for our kids?’ I haven’t made those decisions yet. I’m still in this liminal state of mapping out… the last act, if you will. And I don’t know if that last act will last a year or 20 years.”
Although the Avatar movies are certainly fun, fans have been wanting Cameron to tackle something different for years. There are a couple of possibilities he’s mentioned, such as Ghosts of Hiroshima, The Devils, and a new Terminator film. He even teased another collaboration with Robert Rodriguez. At 71 years old, Cameron is still full of energy, and fans can only hope he’s got a good handful of movies left in him.
‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Underperformed… Somehow
Avatar: Fire and Ash underperformed at the box office, which is a wild thing to say about a movie that grossed over $1.4 billion worldwide. But when you consider that the original Avatar earned $2.9 billion globally and The Way of Water brought in $2.3 billion, the decline is very noticeable.
Although Cameron certainly has plans for Avatar 4 and 5 and has even filmed portions of them, he said he wouldn’t leave fans hanging if the franchise ends with Fire and Ash.
“I don’t know if the saga goes beyond this point. I hope it does,” said Cameron earlier this year. “But, you know, we prove that business case every time we go out… If we don’t get to make 4 and 5, for whatever reason, I’ll hold a press conference and I’ll tell you what we were gonna do. How’s that?”
Further Discussion on Avatar’s Future
For a breakdown of Cameron’s statements regarding the future of the Avatar saga and whether Avatar 4 and 5 will happen, check out this video discussion: