Though the technology involved in bringing the Avatar franchise to life often stands out, Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron insists that isn't the selling point of his series.
Speaking with NPR, the Canadian filmmaker disputed the notion of technology being the driving force behind the success of his Avatar: The Way of Water. Rather, Cameron stressed that the characters and actors who play them deserve more credit. "The movie is succeeding, not based on its technology. In fact, I've kind of even embargoed talking about the behind-the-scenes tech on the film, because I think that people care about the characters," he said.
Additionally, Cameron pointed to the process of filming his Avatar movies, suggesting the extent he and his crew go to when capturing visuals proves how vital the characters are to creating memorable viewing experiences for fans. "It's like, why do we jump through all these hoops of performance capture and the things that we need to do to bring these characters to life? And the answer is because we couldn't do it any other way," he said. "These characters, as you see them, could not be done with makeup. So, you're not going to get that big-eyed, open, empathetic kind of feeling with makeup."
Avatar: The Way of Water's Box Office and Academy Awards Nominations
On Jan. 24, 2023, Avatar: The Way of Water scored a Best Picture nomination at the 95th Academy Awards, which is scheduled to occur on Mar. 12, 2023. The film -- which stars Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and Zoë Saldaña as Neytiri -- contends against a strong Best Picture race, including Tom Cruise's action drama Top Gun: Maverick and Colin Farrell's dark tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin, among others. The Avatar sequel also received Oscar nominations for Best Sound, Best Production Design and Best Visual Effects.
Avatar: The Way of Water recently became the sixth highest-grossing film of all time, passing the $2 billion mark at the box office. Out of the six movies with that distinction, Cameron directed three of them, including both Avatar movies and Titanic. At the time of this article's publication, Avatar: The Way of Water needs just under $26 million to catch Avengers: Infinity War for fifth on the all-time box office list.
Three more sequels have been penciled in for the Avatar franchise, including Avatar 3, which is scheduled for a December 2024 release. Though much of the original cast will come back for the third film, Cameron has confirmed Jake Sully won't be the narrator, instead revealing Lo'ak, played by Britain Dalton in Avatar: The Way of Water, will take over storytelling duties. The rumored director's cut for Avatar 3 made headlines last December as it's reportedly nine hours long, without completed visual effects.
Avatar: The Way of Water is still in theaters now and is expected to hit Disney+ once its theatrical run ends.
Source: NPR