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During an appearance on the podcast The Town, Cameron doubled down on his stance that he’ll only make Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 if Fire and Ash turns a large enough profit at the box office. But he’s seemingly at peace with Fire and Ash potentially being the franchise’s last film and knows how he’ll wrap things up if that happens. “If this is where it ends, cool,” he said. “There is one open thread. I’ll write a book.”
James Cameron’s Avatar Plan Is Smart (but More Movies Will Probably Still Happen)
Though Cameron has been the king of the box office world for decades, his handling of the Avatar franchise is smart for a few reasons. Firstly, it sounds like Fire and Ash is going to serve as a conclusion to the story of the first three Avatar films, which is encouraging to hear. Too often, Hollywood franchises fall into the trap of just assuming there will be audience demand for continued installments, leaving things unresolved to be picked up down the line in sequels or spinoffs that don’t come to fruition. If there’s just a single open thread at the end of Avatar: Fire and Ash that can be addressed in a novel, it means it tells a largely complete narrative that will (hopefully) be satisfying and fulfilling for fans.
While Cameron’s history at the box office speaks for itself, it’s still astute for him to take the “wait and see” approach regarding Avatar 4. Box office trends and audience tastes can change quickly; it wasn’t that long ago comic book adaptations dominated the multiplex, and now we’ve seen the superhero movie bubble burst. Avatar: Fire and Ash seems like a lock to be one of the year’s biggest films, but it’s good Cameron is prepared for any situation. There’s an outside chance franchise fatigue settles in and Fire and Ash isn’t as big of a draw. The first Avatar had the novelty of being an unprecedented cinematic experience; the second Avatar arrived after an extended gap, making it feel new again; Fire and Ash is coming out three short years after The Way of Water, so this is a different kind of box office test for the franchise.
