Avengers: Endgame Director Reacts to James Cameron Hoping Avatar Sequels Will Be Bigger Than Original

2019 was a huge year for movies. Multiple films reached $1 billion at the box office, and [...]

2019 was a huge year for movies. Multiple films reached $1 billion at the box office, and Avengers: Endgame managed to kick Avatar out of the top-grossing worldwide spot, ending the James Cameron film's ten-year reign. Recently, Joe Russo, one-half of the Avengers: Endgame directing team, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the success of his movie. During the interview, Cameron was brought up, and it was mentioned that the director had previously stated that Endgame's success gave him hope that the upcoming Avatar sequels could be as successful as the original. This caused THR to ask if the Russos have spoken to Cameron directly.

"We haven't. We've never met him or run into him socially," Russo revealed. "He was a huge influence on us growing up. We always say the script for Aliens is the template for most modern filmmaking. It spawned an era of commercial movies that owe their DNA and lineage to that script. He's the godfather of modern commercial cinema along with Spielberg and Lucas. When someone says something like that about a movie you made, when you grew up on their films, it's hard to process. The little kid inside of you certainly is ecstatic and validated."

He added, "[Cameron is] not wrong in saying there's hope. There's certainly always hope. We have to look to ourselves to provide the right kind of entertainment to get people to come out of the house. It's more competitive than it's ever been. I think [audiences] want new and interesting concepts. They want it presented in a way that feels spectacular and worthy of walking out the door and sitting in a theater. They want a communal experience. I think Endgame was reflective of that as a communal experience that you couldn't get in your house: the screaming and the cheering and the communal crying and the communal laughter. That's why people go to the theater. There's all different kinds of movies that can provide that. We have to work harder to provide that, to earn their trust and respect."

Avengers: Endgame recently won Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture from the SAG Awards as well as Best Visual Effects and Best Action Movie at the Critic's Choice Awards. Recently, the Russo Brothers also celebrated their film's Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. Avengers: Endgame is going up against Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, 1917, The Lion King, and The Irishman.

Avatar 2 is hitting theaters on December 17, 2021. Upcoming Marvel Studios projects include Black Widow on May 1st, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in the Fall, WandaVision sometime this year, The Eternals on November 6th, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021, Spider-Man 3 on July 16, 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021, and Black Panther 2 on May 6, 2022. Marvel Studios Disney+ series without release dates include Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk.

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