Posted in: 20th Century Studios, Fox, Movies | Tagged: Avatar: Fire and Ash

If Avatar: Fire and Ash Underperforms James Cameron Has Backup Plans

Director James Cameron is "absolutely" willing to walk away from the Avatar franchise if Avatar: Fire and Ash underperforms, but would release a book to wrap everything up.

When Avatar: The Way of Water was released in 2022, there was some concern that it might not perform at the level everyone was expecting or needed it to. It was a sequel that took so long to come out that children born the year it came out were solidly in middle school and becoming teenagers. It was over a decade, and there was a lingering conversation about whether the movie had any cultural impact, considering how little people talked about it aside from its box office and technological achievements. The sequel did very well, and now the third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is coming out in less than a month. Once again, people are wondering what happens if it underperforms at the box office because there are [supposedly] two or maybe more movies on the way. Director James Cameron was recently on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast (via GamesRadar+) and was asked if he was willing to walk away from the franchise if this film underperforms. It turns out that he absolutely is and even has a backup plan for people who want to see all of the plot threads wrapped up.

"Absolutely," Cameron said. "I've been in Avatar land for 20 years. Actually, 30 years, because I wrote it in '95, right, but I wasn't working continuously on it for those first 10 years. There was a brief flurry of interest in '95, and then everybody said, 'You're out of your mind,' and I shelved it for 10 years, and then we got serious in 2005. Yeah, absolutely. Sure, if this is where it ends, cool. … There is one open thread. I'll write a book, answer everybody's questions."

The other scenario that was brought up during the interview was whether or not Cameron would hand the reins of the franchise over to someone else. "Absolutely not," Cameron replied. "I don't think there'd ever be a version where there's another Avatar movie that I didn't produce closely. But in terms of it taking over my life, you know, that's a threshold issue for me." Citing just as a producer is interesting because it does make it sound like he might be interested in letting someone else direct. The conversation around Avatar: Fire and Ash feels oddly like one that you have when a franchise is coming to an end, not reaching the halfway mark. The end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026 are going to be a very interesting time for Avatar fans.

Avatar: Fire and Ash: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

With Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron takes audiences back to Pandora in an immersive new adventure with Marine turned Na'vi leader Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Na'vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the Sully family. The film, which has a screenplay by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver, and a story by James Cameron & Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver & Josh Friedman & Shane Salerno, also stars Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, Trinity Bliss, Jack Champion, Bailey Bass, and Kate Winslet. It will be released in theaters on December 19, 2025.

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