Not only has the world given James Cameron its first reactions to Avatar: The Way of Water, one studio executive has also given the Oscar-winning director their first review for the script to Avatar 4.
"I can't tell you the details, but all I can say is that when I turned in the script for [Avatar 2], the studio gave me three pages of notes," Cameron told Collider. "And when I turned in the script for [Avatar 3], they gave me a page of notes, so I was getting better. When I turned in the script for [Avatar 4], the studio executive, creative executive over the films wrote me an email that said, 'Holy f**k.' And I said, 'Well, where are the notes?' And she said, 'Those are the notes.' Because it kind of goes nuts in a good way, right?"
The filmmaker also shared his plans for Avatar 5 recently, which will find the Na'vi on Earth. "In one of the upcoming films, not immediately next, not three, [but] actually by five, you will see action on Earth," he said. He also suggested that the movie will feature a version of Earth devastated by climate change brought on by human activity. "Don't we want to juxtapose this verdant, incredible world in its prime with an Earth a couple of hundred years from now that is the result of us if we don't change?"
The Future of Avatar Is Not Set in Stone
Cameron has revealed that the scripts for Avatar 3, 4 and 5 are already in the can, with ideas in place for an additional sixth and seventh entry if the franchise stays profitable. As it stands, the fates of Avatar 4 and 5 depend on The Way of Water's box office performance. While its long term earnings remain to be seen, the imminent sequel is expected to at least double the opening weekend of the original Avatar, with a surmised domestic haul somewhere between $150M and $175M.
With a massive $350-400 million budget, Cameron estimates that Avatar 2 needs to be "the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history" to break even but says he has plans to end the franchise with Avatar 3 if the series is not financially successful. "The market could be telling us we're done in three months, or we might be semi-done, meaning: 'Okay, let's complete the story within movie three, and not go on endlessly,' if it's just not profitable," the director said.
Even if Avatar 4 and 5 make it to theaters sometime in the future, Cameron might not be the one to finish them. The filmmaker recently discussed the possibility of handing the reigns of the sci-fi franchise to someone else in favor of pursuing other film, ocean conservation, and sustainable agriculture projects. For that to happen, though, Cameron says he would need to train his successor. "I don't care how smart you are as a director, you don't know how to do this," he said. If Cameron were to step away from the series, it would likely be after Avatar 4 given that he has already shot the sequel's entire first act, according to producer Jon Landau.
While the theatrical fates of Avatar 4 and 5 are still up in the air, Avatar: The Way of Water hits screens on Dec. 16.
Source: Collider