Avatar director James Cameron is still putting the finishing touches on Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third part of the sci-fi epic releasing in December 2025. And though he’s likely waiting to see how the third Avatar installment does with audiences, he already has an outline for parts 4 and 5, both of which are still untitled. Cameron has never exactly concealed his plans to continue making Avatar films as part of the original roadmap. Each film is a gamble, of course, especially considering their massive production budgets, but Cameron consistently delivers in terms of profit. Regardless, he also recognizes that in today’s studio system, making movies as big as these is a matter of luck.
The director spoke to Variety recently, and teased his plans to make Avatar 4 and 5 in the near future. He’s also developing the drama Ghosts of Hiroshima, but that project remains in early development. For now, the Avatar universe takes precedent on the road ahead. When sharing the details of the productions of Avatar 2 and 3, he also revealed some details of the fourth and fifth sequels that are planned for release in 2029 and 2031, respectively. And it sounds expectedly epic…
“Yeah, we started September of 2017. We went for 18 months, but we did both movies, all of it, other than some planned reshoots and some places where I got creative and wrote some new scenes. But the vast majority — call it 95% — was shot in that 18-month window. That was Sigourney playing 15-year-old Kiri across both movies, which actually worked great, because she’s got a story arc across the two movies. There was a kind of a major story arc, where 2 and 3 really tell one big story.
“And then ultimately, if I get so lucky, and I make 4 and 5, 4 and 5 tell one big story. So it kind of stops for a beat after the end of 3. I don’t mean we’ll necessarily stop in production, but the story kind of stops and then it jumps forward in time a little bit.”
Will ‘Avatar’ Continue to Succeed at the Box Office?
Analyzing the success of the Avatar franchise is a tricky thing. Both films released so far have been undeniable triumphs at the box office, with a combined gross of more than $5 billion worldwide. But in terms of discourse and cult following, there are plenty of other IPs that top Avatar. Superhero films are extremely popular today, but 2009’s Avatar remains the highest-grossing film of all time. As impressive as that feat sounds, it must also feel daunting to have to top two of your biggest movies ever with a third, fourth, and fifth follow-up.
Cameron is no doubt acutely aware of the pressure involved in continuing the franchise for years to come. Avatar: The Way of Water was incredibly successful, grossing $2.3 billion, but it was less profitable than the first movie, which made $2.9 billion. With Avatar: Fire and Ash, he faces the challenge of delivering a third part right as some viewers begin to question the potential of the franchise in general. Then again, Avatar 2 was released in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which means the audience reception remains unpredictable.
Avatar has potential as a universe that’s rich with great characters and pending storylines. For many, Avatar is one of the greatest sci-fi stories ever told, and it seems that the only limit to what can be created within Pandora lies in the imagination of a masterful storyteller. Even after two films, he continues to bend the rules of his own creation, and though some still question his ability to expand the Avatar franchise, he has continuously proven that he knows exactly what he’s doing.