Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron has always been a passionate advocate for environmental activism. It's something that's found its way into his movies too, with his latest featuring messages about protecting our oceans and its predecessor, 2009's Avatar, more concerned with the world's rainforests.
We certainly can't fault the filmmaker for attempting to educate audiences through his work, but could the world's apparent lack of interest in protecting the future be part of Cameron's supervillain origin story?
During a recent interview with TIME, the Terminator helmer admitted that he felt a surprisingly personal connection to Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame villain Thanos.
"I can relate to Thanos...I thought he had a pretty viable answer," Cameron said of a possible cull of humanity in order to protect the planet. "The problem is nobody is going to put up their hand to volunteer to be the half that has to go."
We think he's joking, but honestly couldn't say for sure!
In the same interview, Cameron was asked to share his thoughts on Avatar: The Way of Water's Oscar chances (it received a surprise "Best Picture" nomination) and he offered a harsh critique of the Academy.
"How do you compare Tár to Avatar?" he asks. "How do you judge which one is better? It’s ludicrous on its face. I think it’s a bit elitist in a way that at least they shouldn’t be mystified as their audience numbers go down. It’s been a long time since a crowd pleaser won for Best Picture."
"From experience, it’s better to win than not win. It’s better to be nominated than not nominated, no matter how much you want intellectually to argue the whole thing away."
In our review last year, we concluded by saying: "Avatar: The Way of Water’s epic visuals are impossible to find fault with, but with a paper-thin, painfully boring story and little in the way of character development, this three-hour snoozefest is all style, no substance."
As for the next chapter, Avatar 3 is set to be released in theaters on December 20, 2024 (assuming Cameron isn't too busy hunting down the Infinity Stones...).