Written by James Cameron doesn’t consider Avatar: Fire & Ash a typical Hollywood sequel, but the culmination of the entire saga. While technically it’s a threequel, The Terminator director described it as the third act of a long-running story that started wth the first Avatar movie back in 2009. He told io9 (via Gizmodo):
I don’t think of Fire and Ash as a sequel. I think it was a culmination of a saga. I like ‘saga’ better than ‘sequel’ because a lot of where we were going with the story was in the original architecture of the story. So if you think of this as the third act, I think that’s healthier. As opposed to a typical Hollywood sequel, where they make a bunch of money with a movie and then they’re like, ‘Oh, crap. We’ve got to scramble around and get a new script.
The director, however, acknowledged that it was going to be a long game and hoped the audiences would stick with him and care for this world and its characters. And given the box office reception and the projections for the third movie, he was certainly proven right.
Will the Avatar Franchise Conclude With the Threequel?
While Fire & Ash will conclude the story that began with the first movie, the fourth and fifth movies, which are slated to release in 2029 and 2031, respectively, are still very much on the cards.
Elaborating on it, the Avatar: The Way of Water director explained that the following installments in the series will count as their own saga, which will feature their own beginning, middle, and ending.
It’s its own saga. It’s got a beginning and a middle and an end that plays out across these two films. They’re vaporware right now.
For now, however, Cameron isn’t prioritizing these projects, and even if they don’t end up seeing the light of day, he’ll be content with how the saga ends.
James Cameron Could Still Direct Future Entries
James Cameron during an interview | Credit: CTV News/YouTube
If the movies do end up moving forward, which is very likely given the box office projections for the third movie, there’s a good chance Cameron will end up directing by himself instead of passing the torch to another filmmaker.
Earlier this year, Cameron, 71, told Empire that he very much plans to helm the follow-ups. While he’s aware of the challenge that comes with managing the franchise for another six to seven years, he quipped he’s healthy enough to see it through.
I mean, there’s no reason not to. I’m healthy, I’m good to go. I’m not going to rule it out. I mean, I’ve got to make it in a vigorous way, to handle the kind of volume and energy of the work for another six or seven years. You know what I mean? I might not be able to do that… [but] if I can, I’ll just do it
Given his heights in the showbiz, it’d be stupid to bet against Cameron, and hopefully, the Avatar franchise will continue to excel in the foreseeable future.
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Avatar: Fire and Ash is slated for its release on December 19, 2025.
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