Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron recently likened the upcoming sequel's family story to that of the classic HBO crime drama The Sopranos.
Cameron made the surprising comparison during an interview with Total Film. "People say, 'Oh my God, a family story from Disney? Just what we want...' This isn’t that kind of family story," he said. "This is a family story like how The Sopranos is a family story." Avatar: The Way of Water takes place over a decade after the events of the first film in the franchise, with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) now raising their five children.
In the same interview, Cameron also spoke about his decision to scrap the original Avatar: The Way of Water script, which he described as "a hell of a read." The Oscar-winning filmmaker explained that while the sequel's unused screenplay was entertaining, he felt it didn't work because it didn't take the story in an unexpected direction. Cameron added that the scrapped script also "didn't play enough by Avatar rules" to serve as a satisfying follow-up to the original movie, which ultimately sealed its fate. The initial Avatar: The Way of Water screenplay was subsequently recycled as the Avatar: High Ground graphic novel series, instead.
James Cameron Could Kill Avatar 4 & 5
Cameron also confirmed that there's a very real chance he could pull the plug on Avatar 4 and 5, in favor of downsizing the franchise into a trilogy. According to the director, whether this happens will come down to how well Avatar: The Way of Water performs at the box office. "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," he said. Cameron also noted that the film industry has changed dramatically since Avatar premiered in 2009 and whether the sequel succeeds amounts to "how many people give a shit" about the movie-going experience in 2022.
The filmmaker certainly seems intent on giving those who do attend Avatar: The Way of Water screenings as much bang for their buck as possible. The blockbuster reportedly clocks in at over three hours and is more than 29 minutes longer than the original movie.
Avatar: The Way of Water arrives in theaters on Dec. 16 and will be shown across a range of different formats, including RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, and IMAX 3D.
Source: Total Film, via GamesRadar+