Avatar 3: James Cameron Reveals What Could Cause Sequel to be Scrapped

Disney is getting ready to release the highly-anticipated sequel to the highest grossing film of all time Avatar. James Cameron returns to direct the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, and he will helm future sequels for the franchise. Avatar 3 and 4 have already begun production, with the former already wrapped and the latter recently beginning to film. The director even hinted at possible sequels beyond the fourth film earlier today. Cameron has been hard at work on Avatar 3, but it seems that there could be one thing that could prohibit it from happening. During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron explained that Avatar: The Way of Water would have to bomb in order for future sequels to be scrapped.

"We'll probably finish movie three regardless because it's all shot," Cameron told the trade with the knowledge that Disney has already spent $100 million on the budget.  "We'd have to really crater for it not to seem like it was worth the additional investment. We'd have to leave a smoking hole in the ground. Now, hopefully, we get to tell the whole thing because five's better than four, four's better than three, and three's better than two."

Cameron has been developing sequels to his record-breaking film for over a decade. The studio has announced four sequels to Avatar, with two already filmed, and the other two are waiting to see how the first does at the box office. The director shot both sequels back to back due to how the scenes they needed to film for both. About a year ago, Cameron confirmed to Variety why he shot the films this way.

"We mixed the schedules for 2 and 3 together, based on the types of scenes and the environments," Cameron revealed to the trade. "I said, let's just treat it like it's a six-hour miniseries and we're only going to go to Frankfurt once. We're going to shoot all the scenes from 2 and 3 at the same time. That was more or less the motif. Actor availability was an issue as well. Anything that had to be done with a specific actor, we did all the scenes for 2 and 3 together — and a little bit of 4. Because once again, I had to shoot the kids out. They're allowed to age six years in the middle of the story on page 25 of movie 4. So I needed everything before then, and then everything after, we'll do later."

The sequel is confirmed to feature several returning stars that include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stepehn Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao, CCH Pounder, Matt Gerald, and Sigourney Weaver. The cast for the sequels will include several more newcomers than returning members, though, with the likes of Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Michelle Yeoh, Jemaine Clement, Oona Chaplin, David Thewlis, Vin Diesel, and CJ Jones all set to appear as well. Plot details for the sequels are currently unknown.

Avatar: The Way of Water is set to arrive on December 16, 2022, with Avatar 3 set to debut two years later on December 20, 2024.

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