We're still a solid six months out from writer/director James Cameron finally revealing his 13-years-in-the-making sequel to Avatar, but the publicity train is already ploughing ahead at full speed.
As we mentioned in our comprehensive list of the biggest movies still to come to cinemas in 2022, Avatar: The Way Of Water will debut in Irish screens this December, and Cameron has already been chatting up what to expect from the follow-up to his 2009 megahit.
Just a few days ago, it was confirmed that Sigourney Weaver would be returning to the franchise as a brand new character, which explained a big question fans had been asking, considering the events around her role in the first movie.
And now, while talking to Empire Magazine, Cameron has given some updates on the sequels, including the fact that he might not be directing them all himself.
Cameron said:
"The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming. I’ve got some other things I’m developing as well that are exciting. I think eventually over time - I don’t know if that’s after three or after four - I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in. Or maybe not. I don’t know."
"Everything I need to say about family, about sustainability, about climate, about the natural world, the themes that are important to me in real life and in my cinematic life, I can say on this canvas. I got more excited as I went along. Movie four is a corker. It’s a motherfucker. I actually hope I get to make it. But it depends on market forces. Three is in the can so it’s coming out regardless. I really hope that we get to make four and five because it’s one big story, ultimately."
Cameron passing the torch to another director would be something of a major surprise, given how adamant he has been for years that he's no longer in the movie business, but "the Avatar business" and thus was highly unlikely to hand off creative control to another filmmaker.
Whether or not we'll get to see all five movies of his planned franchise will depend on the box office response the first two sequels.
Avatar: The Way Of Water is currently scheduled to debut in Irish cinemas on Friday, 16 December, with Avatar 3 due for release on 22 December 2023, and the earmarked release dates for Avatar 4 and 5 being December 2025 and December 2027, respectively.
Clip via 20th Century Studios
