Fans have waited patiently for over a decade for James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water. When Avatar came out in 2009 it proved to be a game changer not only for being the highest-grossing film at the time but the way it resonated with audiences was unprecedented. The science-fiction movie highlights themes like colonization, climate change, and our connection to the world around us. But the world has changed much since the first movie came out and developing a profitable franchise of this scope is quite imperative in the post-pandemic theatrical business. In a recent conversation with Slash Film, Cameron entertained the prospect of Avatar 2 failing to resonate with people anymore, revealing he’s willing to wrap up the franchise with the third part.
The mega success of the original movie cemented Cameron’s position as an auteur and he signed on with 20th Century Fox to make 3 more movies The Way of Water, Avatar 3, and Avatar 4. When Disney acquired Fox, the house of mouse’s backing helped further the filmmaker’s ambitions, who has rarely missed the box office mark having made classics like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Aliens, Titanic, and more. Speaking of the uncertainty in the post-pandemic theater experience, which has been affected by the rise of the streaming business and changing consumer preferences Cameron said,
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 ... 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 3 has completed its principal photography and is currently set for December 20, 2024, release for Avatar 4 fans would have to wait another two years after that. There had been some movies post-pandemic that literally made come to the theaters, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness have been huge hits recently. If Avatar’s rerelease is any indication, which pushed the film’s global haul to $2.905 billion, The Way of Water looks safe at the moment.
The movie hits theaters on December 16. You can check out our conversation with Cameron below: