Director James Cameron joked that if no one went to see Avatar: The Way of Water, he wouldn't have to worry about making Avatar 4 and 5. Well, after grossing over 2 billion dollars at the box office, it's safe to assume that Cameron as Avatar 4 and 5 on his To-do List.
However, he'll need to finish Avatar 3 first. Franchise star Sam Worthington has revealed that filming on Avatar 3 is slated to start up next month. "We go back to work on it in a month and it’s big. It’s bigger than you can imagine," said Worthington.
Recently, Cameron weighed in on the difficult filming process for The Way of Water, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Two, we got hit with the pandemic in the middle of it and we were interrupted, and then we had to reboot and reboot the production and all that sort of thing. And it was a scramble to get it done," said Cameron.
He also went on to touch on the fourth Avatar film, which is currently set to hit theaters in 2029. "We see them and then we go away for six years and we come back. And so the part where we come back is the part we haven't shot yet. So we'll start on that after three is released."
The first Avatar movie was released in 2009 and has grossed $2.923 billion worldwide to date.
A sequel, titled Avatar: The Way of Water was released 13 years later in 2022 and amassed $2.32 billion worldwide.
The third film, currently going by Avatar 3, was partially filmed while Cameron was completing The Way of Water, specifically the water scenes in Avatar 3 were shot at the same time that water scenes for The Way of Water were filmed.
The Avatar franchise stars Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, Sigourney Weaver as Kiri/Dr. Grace Augustine, Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch, Kate Winslet as Ronal, Cliff Curtis as Tonowari, CCH Pounder as Mo'at, Britain Dalton as Lo'ak te, Jamie Flatters as Neteyam, Edie Falco as General Frances Ardmore.
Oona Chaplin, Michelle Yeoh, and David Thewlis are confirmed to portray new characters in Avatar 3.
Barring any delays, Avatar 3 will arrive in theaters on December 19, 2025 while Avatar 4 currently has a December 21, 2029 release date.
Avatar: The Way of Water Synopsis:
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, “Avatar: The Way of Water” begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.