Recently, co-producer Rae Sanchini confirmed that both “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5” will move forward, after creator and director James Cameron had hinted that the box office success of Avatar: Fire and Ash—which grossed over $1.5 billion—was enough to justify completing the final two chapters of the story (filming for which has technically already begun, at least for the fourth installment, during the back-to-back production of Avatar: The Way of Water and the third chapter).
Now, a new update comes from The Wrap: according to the magazine’s sources, negotiations may be underway between James Cameron and Disney/20th Century Studios, as the studio has reportedly been asking the director, in recent meetings, to make Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 “more cost-effective” and “shorter” than the previous two films; This, of course, is in an effort to reduce financial “risk” and maximize profits even if the final two installments fail to reach $2 billion at the box office and thus, like Fire and Ash, fail to replicate the success of Avatar and The Way of Water ($2.9 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively).
You might be a bit surprised that Disney is making such demands of James Cameron, given that the company promptly integrated the Avatar saga into its theme parks after acquiring it following the merger with Fox, but this is Hollywood! The source adds that the “risk” for Disney could affect the parks, stating: “There are indications that Disney might reconsider the planned ‘Avatar’ expansion at one of its theme parks in California.”
Given the massive investments at stake (the budget for “Fire & Ash” was approximately $350 million), it’s reasonable to assume that James Cameron, following the merger, realized he would no longer be working with the same people who had originally entrusted him with the production of four massive and expensive sequels (it’s also worth noting that each installment has seen declining box office receipts: “Fire & Ash” grossed about $890 million less than “The Way of Water,” which in turn grossed about $600 million less than the first film from 2009). Incidentally, a runtime of less than 3 hours could bring the saga back to the level of the first film (which was much shorter than parts 2 and 3), which in turn would mean more daily showings in theaters and thus a larger audience. Clearly, however, this is just a “negotiation,” and James Cameron is certainly the kind of director capable of standing his ground, so we’ll see what comes of it.
As mentioned, some scenes from Avatar 4 have already been shot, but this feedback from Disney and 20th Century Studios confirms that behind-the-scenes work is already underway, one way or another: as a reminder, the two sequels are currently scheduled for December 19, 2029, and December 17, 2031, respectively, on the Disney calendar.
