Avatar 6 and 7 Already Planned by James Cameron

James Cameron is planning another trip — or two — back to the planet Pandora. The visionary director and producer of the highest-grossing film in history announced his five-movie Avatar plans in 2015, originally dating Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 for 2026 and 2028. (Disney has since reshuffled its release calendar, moving the untitled fourth and fifth films to Dec. 21, 2029, and Dec. 19, 2031.) Now Cameron, 69, expects to be "handing the baton" to other filmmakers to continue the story of the Na'vi in Avatar 6 and Avatar 7, extending the blockbuster sci-fi franchise into the 2030s and beyond. 

"We're fully written through movie five, and I've got ideas for six and seven, although I'll probably be handing the baton on at that point," Cameron told PEOPLE at the 51st annual Saturn Awards. "I mean, mortality catches up. But I mean, we're enjoying what we're doing. We're loving it. We get to work with great people."

With Avatar 3 in post-production and on track for release in December 2025, Cameron added that he envisions Avatar as an ongoing franchise spanning decades like Star Wars and Star Trek.  

"Star Trek, Star Wars, the world building franchises that have been around since I was a kid, those were my inspirations," he said, adding: "We're still a young universe. We're only two movies in, we're halfway through our third right now. To have that kind of cultural impact over time, you got to pour all your heart and energy into it."

Avatar: The Way of Water surfaced in theaters in December 2022 and will be followed by next year's Cameron-directed Avatar 3 and Avatar 4 in 2029.

"People are always asking us, 'So why did you just keep working in the same…' Why did [Star Wars creator George] Lucas keep working in the same thing? Why did [Star Trek creator Gene] Roddenberry keep working in the same thing?" Cameron continued. "Because when you connect with people, why would you squander that? Why would you start over with something else that might not connect?"

Franchise producer Jon Landau added that "there are more stories to tell" in the Avatar Universe, planned out in advance by Cameron. "I mean, it's not like we're trying to come up with stories. He's got the stories and we took the time to lay it out across all four sequels."