Avatar: The Way of Water is officially going to turn a profit, and in celebration, director James Cameron offered up an update on Avatar 3, 4, and 5.
Despite more than a decade coming between Avatar and its sequel, it seems The Way of Water is another hit for Cameron, as the film breaks into the top 10 biggest movies of all time less than a month after release.
This all comes after years of talk of the Titanic director's extensive plans for his Pandoran epic. Even before Avatar 2 hit theaters, Cameron was not shy in describing what could come next after The Way of Water.
And with this latest sequel continuing to etch its name into the record books, and Avatar 3 in the can, Cameron took some time to look ahead at the future of the franchise.
More Avatar Sequels Confirmed on the Way
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Avatar director James Cameron provided an encouraging update on the extensive sequel plan he has for the sci-fi franchise.
Cameron told the outlet that "it looks like [he] can’t wiggle out of this, [he's] gonna have to do these other sequels," as The Way of Water trends towards making a profit:
“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.”
According to the visionary filmmaker, "[he's] sure that [he’ll] have a discussion soon with the top folks at Disney" about "the game plan going forward for Avatar 3:"
"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 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.
He opined that with the success of the first two films, "[he's] begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films:”
"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.”
More Avatar Sequels Locked-In
Looking back now, it seems a little silly that anyone might have doubted if Avatar could succeed as a franchise. Yes, the first film was a massive hit, becoming the biggest movie of all time, but there were serious worries if Cameron could strike gold twice with his sci-fi franchise.
Well, despite not being profitable until nearly $1.5 billion was in the bank, the Canadian filmmaker did it, and he has an IP on his hands that seems to print money both domestically and across the world.
20th Century Film (a subsidiary of Disney) knew the significant investment it was getting into when getting into the Avatar sequel business. Back when The Way of Water was greenlit in 2010, Avatar 3 was locked in as well, with a conditional two more films to follow. Both 2 and 3 were filmed at the same time, with some Avatar 4 work being done as well.
So Avatar 3 was a sure thing from the get-go. That movie has been shot and is moving to post-production now. But there could have easily been a world where the story ended with that movie.
Say The Way of Water landed as a flop, not even getting close to making a profit. Then a third, fourth, and fifth movie might not have been a sure thing.
But now, it is looking as though Cameron will get to see his vision through, telling the entire Avatar story from open to close.
Avatar: The Way of Water can be seen now in theaters worldwide.
