James Cameron has created a multi-billion dollar franchise with Avatar, but he may pass the directing reigns to another director.
After directing the $2 billion box office office smash in 2009, Cameron has since been developing four sequels, the first of which, Avatar: The Way of Water, finally hits theaters on December 16, 2022. The third installment hasn’t been announced with an official title, but is slated to be released in December 2024, since it was filmed back-to-back with Avatar 2.
Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 have yet to start production, but when that time comes, it is possible a new director will be behind the camera, according to Cameron. “The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming,” Cameron said in an interview with Empire magazine, adding that there are some other projects he’s currently developing that he’s excited about. “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,” he continued. “Or maybe not. I don’t know.”
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, the long in development Avatar sequel begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Directed by James Cameron and produced by Cameron and Jon Landau, the film stars Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clement, and Kate Winslet.
To whet audiences’ appetites, the studio will re-release Avatar in theaters on September 23. Stick with The DisInsider as we continue to cover the Avatar franchise.