Photo Credit: 20th Century Studios
James Cameron seems to be hinting that Avatar 3 could end the series.

20th Century Studios’ Avatar 3, also known as Avatar: Fire and Ash, arrives in United States theaters next month. Directed by Cameron, the Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water sequel will once again see Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña reprise their respective roles as Jake Sully and Neytiri.

What did James Cameron say about Avatar 3 potentially ending the series?

While Avatar 4 and 5 have already been announced, Cameron appeared on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast and suggested that it’s possible Fire and Ash could be his final Avatar movie.

“I have no doubt in my mind that this movie will make money,” Cameron said. “The question is, does it make enough money to justify doing it again?”

He went on to say he was “absolutely” ready to walk away if the movie doesn’t gross enough. He added, “I’ve been in Avatar land for 20 years. Actually, 30 years, because I wrote it in 95. But I wasn’t working continuously on it for those first ten years. There was a brief flurry of interest in ’95, and then everybody said you’re out of your mind, and I shelved it for 10 years. Then, we got serious in 2005. Yeah, absolutely, sure. If this is where it ends, cool.”

Cameron said that there will be “one open thread” that is unresolved if Fire and Ash is the last film in the franchise; however, he also said he’ll “write a book” to conclude things if that ends up being what happened.

When asked if he’d consider handing the franchise to someone else after Fire and Ash, Cameron initially said he would “absolutely not” before commenting, “I have choices there. There are levels in which I immerse. I could produce it. I don’t think there’d ever be a version where there’s another Avatar movie that I didn’t produce closely. But, in terms of it taking over my life, that’s a threshold issue for me.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash arrives on December 19, 2026.