James Cameron Confirms Plans for Avatar 6 and 7

This December will see the long awaited Avatar sequel finally be released. Thirteen years after James Cameron’s film was nominated for Best Picture and Avatar: The Way of Water will finally be seen by audiences. The extended production time on the follow-up has resulted in preparations for not only the second movie this December but a third movie two years later and even a fourth and fifth movie in the pipeline as well. In a new interview however Cameron has confirmed that should the series still be successful, they could very well not stop there and go as high as Avatar 6 and Avatar 7.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in an extensive profile documenting the making of The Way of Water, Cameron noted he has plans for a sixth and seventh feature, but noted it seemed unlikely he’d be the one to make them.  “I’d be 89 by then,” the Academy Award-winning director said. “Obviously, I’m not going to be able to make Avatar movies indefinitely, the amount of energy required. I would have to train somebody how to do this because, I don’t care how smart you are as a director, you don’t know how to do this.” Cameron noted that he believes he has “five or six more movies in him” and that three of them would be Avatar sequels.

What if Avatar 2 bombs?

Considering the amount of time it has taken for the second Avatar movie to get made and released, there’s been plenty of speculation and chatter on the interest that audiences will even have for a follow-up. Despite his enthusiasm for the films, even James Cameron had to admit that it was something that has crossed his mind as well. Speaking in a recent issue of Total Film Magazine, the Oscar-winning director confirmed they know what they’ll do if Avatar: The Way of Water isn’t a hut. 

“The market could be telling us we’re done in three months, or we might be semi-done, meaning: ‘Okay, let’s complete the story within movie three, and not go on endlessly,’ if it’s just not profitable,” Cameron revealed. “We’re in a different world now than we were when I wrote this stuff, even. It’s the one-two punch – the pandemic and streaming. Or, conversely, maybe we’ll remind people what going to the theater is all about. This film definitely does that. The question is: how many people give a s*** now?”

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.