Discuss: Are You Actually Looking Forward To The 'Avatar' Sequels? James Cameron Offers Minor Update

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by Kevin Jagernauth
March 18, 2013 3:58 PM
16 Comments

There are exactly 2,782,275,172 reasons that Fox is going ahead with "Avatar" sequels -- yes, that is monumental worldwide box office for James Cameron's smash hit film. A technological wonder upon release, and responsible for ushering the onslaught of 3D movies to the multiplex, there is sound financial reason for the studio to press onward. And certainly, with the film moving units on home video (where it has already cycled through a couple different releases), it suggests that audiences are willing to return to Pandora. While the studio had initially set "Avatar 2" for a December 2014 release, followed in 2015 by part three, last summer it was revealed that wasn't going to happen, with 2015 said to be the earliest that any of the sequels might surface. And one reason why? Cameron is still writing the thing(s).

"It's not exactly a little, intimate drama. I'm working on 'Avatar 2' and 'Avatar 3.' I was talking the other day with Peter Jackson and said, 'You had it easy dude. You had the books when you did the second and third 'Lord of the Rings.' I have to create my own books in my head and extract a script from it. I'm deep into it and I'm living in Pandora right now," he told Play Goes Strong. "There is that start up torque where you feel it's coming to you. Then you build up momentum. That's when it gets fun. The characters talk and it's writing itself. I'm almost there right now. It's building fast."

"As for a release date, that will be determined by when I get the script out," he adds, saying he doesn't feel the pressure of living up to any expectations.

However, having recently moved to New Zealand where he plans to shoot the sequels, there is still a lot riding on the followups, and not just the fate of a potential mega franchise. Disney is planning a major theme park attraction based on the movie as well, with Cameron said to be directly involved with the Imagineers in bringing it to life. But the $2.7 billion dollar question is: what is the real excitement level for these follow-ups?

Part of the mammoth success of "Avatar" was that it was a once-in-a-lifetime event, a movie that was largely sold on it's technological leaps as much as anything else. And while reviews were mostly positive, one could argue its presence in the pop culture world hasn't quite lasted. While it serves as a shorthand for blockbuster potential, an (anecdotal, anyway) argument could be made that Pandora lunchboxes probably aren't moving as fast as "Star Wars" or "Lord Of The Rings" products, nor does there seem to be as vocal a fanbase as those films either.

But perhaps we're just too far away. Maybe once the sequels become more firmed up, the fanbase will being to firm up and make themselves heard. Or maybe "Avatar" is a phenomenon that would be foolish to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on to try to repeat. What do you think? Can "Avatar" swing back and better than ever? Or should Cameron drop it and move onto something else like his forever-developing "Battle Angel"? [via Bleeding Cool]

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More: James Cameron, Avatar 2, Avatar 3, Avatar 4

16 Comments

| Reply
Mark | March 19, 2013 3:36 PMReply

Cameron has already made two of the greatest sequels ever made. Never underestimate him. Can't wait for Avatar 2 and 3.
Aksel | March 19, 2013 6:44 AMReply

I'm pretty sure that everyone will go see these movies just to appreciate what Cameron has to bring technology-wise.
It's true that the stories that he chooses to tell are not that compelling but the man sure knows how to translate them onto the big screen.
Mark | March 19, 2013 3:35 PM

"It's true that the stories that he chooses to tell are not that compelling"

Try telling that to the 40 million people that follow the Avatar Facebook page.
Kiki | March 19, 2013 3:51 AMReply

I wasn't aware Avatar had a fanbase to begin with. It was one of the worst films I've ever seen and I'm still angry at James Cameron for those three hours of my life I'll never see again. So many great scripts/ideas never make it to the big screen and we're going to get Pocahontas-in-Space-Dressed-Up-Like-Smurfs 2 and 3. Gah.
Get Real | March 19, 2013 3:35 AMReply

Fuck no.
Glass | March 18, 2013 11:00 PMReply

The answer is: It doesn't matter what the film blog commenting community thinks about the Avatar squeakquels. For the most part, Avatar was shat upon by them from the time it was even announced, and it still became the biggest movie of all time. I think this will be a slightly-lesser cousin of that situation.
Alan B | March 18, 2013 7:49 PMReply

Cameron is a GOD. The dude can take original material and turn it into a more viable franchise than a comicbook series, and he's done that repeatedly. The prevailing internet attitude is like "I don't know, I mean he has made the highest grossing film TWICE, but I still don't know about him." Why would anyone - ever - bet against him? Like, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever ...
Alan B | March 19, 2013 3:43 AM

He is literally the only director in the world who could say that his next film will have the all-time highest gross, and no one will bat an eye. This is a guy that - in commercial terms - makes Steven Spielberg look like Abbas Kiarostami. Plus, he was once married to Wonder Woman (Bigelow or Hamilton, take your pick), he can control the ocean like Poseidon and made Ed Harris cry, so yes, he is a GOD.
d | March 18, 2013 9:48 PM

"The dude can take original material and turn it into a more viable franchise than a comicbook series, and he's done that repeatedly."

Does that really make him a "GOD?"
bohmer | March 18, 2013 7:41 PMReply

it's so not necessary...but like the fucking hobbit, i'll be there.
WILL | March 18, 2013 5:18 PMReply

Of course we do, Avatar was fantastic. It was a proper movie.
Limm | March 18, 2013 6:49 PM

Was it though?
CB | March 18, 2013 5:03 PMReply

Sure I'm interested. I'm not gonna pretend that Avatar wasn't a thrilling cinematic experience.
murtada | March 18, 2013 4:38 PMReply

I don't think we need sequels to that story...
Zorro | March 18, 2013 5:19 PM

Don't worry Murtada, your IQ is probably much higher than Metaxeno's.

Not looking forward to them; I won't mind if they are not made; the first film did have an ending. But I will probably see them when they come out.
Metaxeno | March 18, 2013 5:08 PM

I don't think your IQ is very high