James Cameron has been developing Avatar 6 and Avatar 7, but he probably won’t be directing what will presumably be the franchise’s final sequels, according to new comments that the director shared with PEOPLE at the 51st annual Saturn Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. Avatar 3 is expected to hit theaters in 2025 following the success of 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water, which has made $2,320,250,281 worldwide.
Cameron on the future of Avatar:
- “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.”
- “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.”
Avatar planned release dates:
- Avatar 3: 2025
- Avatar 4: 2029
- Avatar 4: 2031
Cameron on how he wants Avatar to be a big sci-fi franchise:
- “Star Trek, Star Wars, the world building franchises that have been around since I was a kid, those were my inspirations.”
- “…as I was saying out there, 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.”
- “People are always asking us, ‘So why did you just keep working in the same…’ Why did Lucas keep working in the same thing? Why did Roddenberry keep working in the same thing? Because when you connect with people, why would you squander that? Why would you start over with something else that might not connect?”
Cameron on why he thinks Avatar has been a hit with audiences:
- “They innately want beauty. And so many science fiction films are dystopian.”
- “Ours is actually dystopian in its message to some extent, but it’s about beauty, it’s about connection, it’s about positive values, and that seems to be working.”
- “So what does that tell us about us? And as human beings globally? Because the films are successful in all markets everywhere. And so I think that’s empowering for us.”