Until Avatar: Fire and Ash "underperformed" with $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office, James Cameron's sci-fi franchise was no stranger to record-breaking success.
The threequel was undoubtedly still a hit, but Disney can't ignore this sizeable drop in ticket sales from 2009's Avatar ($2.9 billion) and 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water ($2.3 billion). That's why there's now some uncertainty surrounding whether Avatar 4 will become a reality, something Cameron has repeatedly acknowledged.
If the fourth chapter happens, then the House of Mouse might step in to keep a closer eye on Cameron, especially as Avatar: Fire and Ash had a reported budget of $400 million. Up until now, though, it sounds like the filmmaker has enjoyed the type of freedom other franchises don't necessarily get.
Talking to The Independent, Sam Worthington explained, "We're unlike Marvel movies, in the sense of, it feels like an independent movie when we make it. We don't have outside pressures, or expectations from the press, or the studio, or the community. It doesn't affect what we do. And that's why we can take more risks."
"It's not like we have to get scenes completed by today or the studio is going to be upset. We just play and create. People don’t understand that," the actor added, pushing back on claims that Cameron is a tyrant on his film sets. "They think it’s this big solid machine where Jim is the didactic director. And he’s not. He’s a painter."
We don't know how much profit Avatar: Fire and Ash made, or whether it was enough for Disney to greenlight an instalment that allows Cameron to continue that "independent movie" approach.
In a separate interview with ScreenRant, Avatar franchise executive producer Rae Sanchini was asked what's next for Cameron amid reports that his next project will likely be Fantastic Voyage instead of Avatar 4.
"[Fantastic Voyage has] been long in the works and we are moving forward and can't announce anything, but we are in the works coming up in very early stages," Sanchini explained. "That's been kind of a dream project of ours for some time."
"And then the Avatar films are a very long lead time process, so we're going to have to get started on those pretty soon as well," she noted. "And then Jim's got another few things that he's always kicking around. Sure. A lot of original ideas."
Cameron has been transparent about not allowing another director to continue the Avatar franchise without him, and has even thrown around the idea of finishing his Pandora story in book form. There's still plenty of time between now and Avatar 4's previously announced December 21, 2029, release date, but whether it will meet that is TBD.
Stay tuned for updates on Disney's Avatar plans as we have them.