The Avatar franchise has captivated sci-fi movie fans ever since the original Avatar film debuted in theaters in December 2009.
“Avatar” and its first sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” released in 2022, together grossed $5.2 billion worldwide and became the first and third highest-grossing films of all time, according to the industry website. Cashier Mojo.
Now the long-awaited third part of the franchise. Avatar: Fire and Ash. debuted in theaters on December 19.
The new film, which was delayed by a year, brings back Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, as well as other cast members from the original film. It also stars Kate Winslet, Edie Falco and Giovanni Ribisi, who appeared in the 2022 sequel.
Director James Cameron previously promised that there were two more Avatar films to come.
But in a new interview Hollywood Reporter published on December 17, Cameron said that the promotion of the final two films, which will have budgets as huge as the first three films, depends on the box office success of Avatar: Fire and Ash.
“This may be the last question. There is only one (unanswered question) in this story. We may find that the release of Avatar 3 proves how diminished the cinematic experience is these days, or we may find that it proves it is as strong as ever – but only for certain types of films,” he said.
“It’s a coin toss right now,” Cameron added. “We won’t know until mid-January.”
Here's what we know about the possible final two installments of the Avatar franchise.
What is the Avatar franchise about?
The sci-fi franchise, created by Cameron, tells the story of a group of people from the hostile Resource Development Authority. (RDA) who encounter native humanoids called the Na'vi after greedily colonizing their moon Pandora to mine a valuable mineral.
The franchise's long-running storyline also features an unlikely love story between human Jake Sully, played by Worthington, and Na'vi warrior Neytiri, played by Saldana.
Avatar: The Way of Water introduces the new oceanic Na'vi tribe, the Metkayina clan living on the reefs of Pandora, as well as new sea creatures such as the cetacean Tulkuns. In Avatar: Fire and Ash, viewers are introduced to the Mangkwan clan, also known as the People of Ash, led by their evil leader Varang, played by Oona Chaplin.
When will Avatar 4 be released?
A year-long delay in the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash has pushed back the release dates for the final two films in the franchise. Deadline reported in June 2023.
Avatar 4, which was originally scheduled for release in December 2026, will now hit theaters in December 2029, according to Deadline.
But as Cameron told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published this week, he hopes the just-released “Avatar: Fire and Ash” will be another box office success so he could continue with the franchise.
However, Cameron shared tidbits about the Avatar 4 script with reporters. Entertainment Weekly back in 2022, revealing that the film will feature a “big time jump” to account for how much the franchise's young actors have aged in real life.
“They're young men and young women at the point where we get to the B-side of the time jump,” he said.
During a performance in 2023 at “Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?” Cameron confirmed that he has already begun work on both final films.
“Both Avatar 4 and 5 have already been written. We even have some of Avatar 4 in the can,” Cameron said.
“At this point, we have started a franchise,” he said, adding: “We can confidently say that we have started a saga that can now play out over multiple films, which was our original goal.”
When Wallace asked if Cameron already knew the final scene of the entire franchise, Cameron replied: “Oh yes. Everything is already written. The scripts for 2, 3, 4 and 5 were completed over five years ago. Everything is planned.”
When will Avatar 5 be released?
Avatar 5, which was originally scheduled to hit theaters in December 2028, is now scheduled for release in December 2031, it has been reported. Deadline.
How will the story of Avatar end?
As for how the franchise's story will end, producer Jon Landau dropped a bombshell about Avatar 5's plot during a 2022 conversation with the magazine. Gizmodo io9 blog.
“I wasn't going to talk about it, but now I heard Jim (Cameron) talk about it a little bit,” Landau said. “There's a part of the story in the fifth movie where we go to Earth. And we go to Earth to open people's eyes, to open Neytiri's eyes to what exists on Earth.”
This journey, according to Landau, will show the Na'vi that the colonizing people in the Resource Development Authority do not represent all people.
“The land is represented by more than just the RDA,” he said. “Just like you are defined by the choices you make in life, not all people are bad. Not all Na'vi are good. And that is the case here on Earth. And we want to expose Neytiri to that.”
