For four hours yesterday, Disney laid out their plans for the future across their many brands. And yet when it came to their recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios), they were largely silent, relegating it to a new Alien prequel series from Noah Hawley and a brief mention that 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Studios will create content for Hulu. It seemed surprising that there was no mention of James Cameron’s Avatar sequels given the investment and size of those pictures. Surely when there was so much attention paid to franchises, Avatar would merit some kind of mention?

But when you look at the purpose of the overall presentation, it doesn’t make much sense to highlight Avatar because the presentation was about the future of Disney’s streaming operation. Keep in mind that Disney is massive corporate entity and there was almost nothing said about its theme parks or cruise lines either because those don’t exist as “content.” Disney’s goal in that investor presentation was to explain how they’re going to compete with Netflix and other major streamers in the years to come. What this means for theatrical distribution is unclear (Disney clearly thinks it will remain a key part of their business, which is why they didn’t shift their entire 2021 slate to a Disney+/theatrical hybrid model like WarnerMedia is doing with HBO Max), but ultimately Avatar will always be a theatrical play. James Cameron loves 3D and IMAX, and neither of those are a part of any streaming service.

The Avatar sequels are about a theatrical future, and Avatar 2 isn’t due out until December 16, 2022 (assuming it doesn’t get bumped again), so there’s really no point in highlighting that film or its sequels in a presentation about what Disney plans to do with Disney+. So don’t read anything into the quality or status about the Avatar sequels from their omission in the Investor Day presentation. They were left out not because of what they are, but because they’re not a part of Disney’s streaming future.

For more on the Avatar sequels, click here.