James Cameron has a backup plan in case Avatar: The Way of Water bombs at the box office

The James Cameron film Avatar, which was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and is still the all-time top-grossing film, was released thirteen years ago. The long interval between the first movie and its planned sequel has led many to wonder, “Does anyone care about an Avatar 2?” Despite the fact that the movie’s recent re-release demonstrated that there is still a desire to experience this universe on the big screen. As one may anticipate, James Cameron himself has thought about this issue and has a solution. In the most recent issue of Total Film Magazine (via SlashFilm), James Cameron, who directed Avatar: The Way of Water, talked about his plan B.

Cameron remarked, “The market may be telling us that we’re finished in three months or that we’re halfway there, in which case we should wrap things up in the third movie rather than continuing forever if it’s not financially viable.” Even since I wrote this, the world has changed significantly. With the pandemic and streaming, it’s a one-two punch. Alternately, perhaps we’ll remind folks why they should go to the theatre. Yes, this movie does that. “How many people care right now, I wonder?”

Fortunately for Cameron, the box office results from Avatar’s re-release earlier this year showed that many people do care because the 13-year-old film still made over $25 million at the US box office in its first two weeks. Early on, it was predicted that Avatar: The Way of Water would make $650 million at the domestic box office. This shows that people are still interested and will likely get Avatar 3 and possibly Avatar 4.

Jon Landau, the producer of the movie, has said that Avatar 2 and 3 are being made at the same time, and even though Avatar 4 hasn’t been given the green light yet, some scenes for it have already been shot.

There were logistical reasons why we had to finish most of the first act of “Avatar 4,” Landau said in an interview with Variety. We have just filmed the first act of “Avatar 4,” but we have designed the majority of the entire picture.

Avatar 3 is scheduled to premiere on December 20, 2024, two years after the release of Avatar: The Way of Water on December 16, 2022.