“The Avatar movies themselves are all-consuming,” Cameron tells Empire in an interview. “I have some other things I’m developing that are exciting. I think eventually over time – I don’t know if it’s after three o’clock or after four o’clock – I’ll want to hand over to a director that I trust to take over so I can go do some other things that I’m also or maybe not. I do not know.” His excitement is intense, however, for the upcoming films. “Whatever I need to say about family, sustainability, climate, the natural world, the issues that are important to me in real life and in my film life, I can say on this canvas,” Cameron said. “As I progressed, I got more excited. Film four is a horseshoe. She’s a mom. I really hope I can make it. But it depends on market forces. Three is in the box, so it comes out regardless. I really hope we can make it four and five because it’s a big story, after all.” Cameron previously tapped Robert Rodriguez to direct Alita: Battle Angel, a film he had long planned to adapt for the screen and which fans of the graphic novel it was based on had hoped he would direct. Cameron was very busy with the Avatar films at the time, but stayed on as executive producer and co-writer. Avatar: The Way Of Water takes place more than a decade after the events of the first film. It follows the Sally family (Jake, Neytiri and their children), the trouble that follows them, the efforts they make to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive and the tragedies they endure. It then stars Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, Edie Falco, Stephen Lang, Giovanni Ribisi, Oona Chaplin, Jermaine Clement, among others. Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters worldwide on December 16, 2022.
