After a questionable opening weekend, the second installment of the Avatar story, Avatar: The Way of the Water, has done well at the box office, crossing the 1.5 billion mark, which means it has comfortably taken the highest-grossing film in 2022 title from competitor Top Gun: Maverick. Another perk of this monumental figure? It has sparked commentary from Director James Cameron that further sequels will go ahead.

The Hollywood Reporter published an article about Cameron’s appearance on a recent episode of the HBO Max show Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? where he had a lot to say about what will come next:

“It looks like just with the momentum that the film has now that will easily pass our break even in the next few days, so it looks like I can’t wiggle out of this, I’m gonna have to do these other sequels.  I know what I’m going to be doing the next six or seven years. The point is we’re going to be okay. I’m sure that we’ll have a discussion soon with the top folks at Disney about the game plan going forward for Avatar 3, which is already in the can – we’ve already captured and photographed the whole film so we’re in extended post-production to do all that CG magic. And then Avatar 4 and 5 are both written. We even have some of 4 in the can. We’ve begun a franchise at this point. We’ve begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films.”

The Hollywood Reporter on HBO Max, Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?

In an interview with the French newspaper 20 Minutes, Cameron teased further information about the continuation of the Avatar story. IndieWire had the details of the discussion:

“The fire will be represented by the ‘Ash People.  I want to show the Na’vi from another angle because, so far, I have only shown their good sides. In the early films, there are very negative human examples and very positive Na’vi examples. In Avatar 3, we will do the opposite. We will also explore new worlds, while continuing the story of the main characters. I can say that the last parts will be the best. The others were an introduction, a way to set the table before serving the meal.”

Indie Wire on French publication 20 Minutes

Avatar 3 is reportedly scheduled for December 20th, 2024. Though I usually wouldn’t hold one’s breath for another film of this magnitude to be delivered on time in less than 24 months, after reading Cameron’s comments about the work already completed on the next installment, we might just see this one arrive on time.

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