James Cameron Says AI Won’t Terminate Artists—Creators Are Still in Control

James Cameron, who once imagined machines ruling the world, now says AI won’t terminate artists — after Avatar, he believes creators remain in control.

James Cameron is trying to cook up a new Terminator, and the very thing that franchise warned us about is making it harder to write. Meanwhile, working on the next Avatar has him more convinced than ever that artists are not about to get replaced by a bot. Yes, it is a little funny that both things are true at once.

Terminator vs. real-world AI

Cameron says he has been tasked with figuring out a fresh Terminator story, but he has barely started because reality keeps lapping the fiction. The short version: when AI is moving this fast in the real world, every clever sci-fi idea risks feeling outdated by the time you type FADE OUT. He even called this moment a full-on sci-fi age, which is both cool and, you know, slightly alarming for a guy trying to write about killer machines.

Avatar changed his mind about AI replacing artists

On the flip side, Cameron told Variety that working on Avatar: Fire and Ash with his visual effects teams has made him bullish on human creativity. He describes a production culture where hundreds of iterations happen behind the scenes, and by the time a shot hits his screen for the first time, he can sometimes call it done right there. Why? Because the artists have been steeped in the very specific rules of Pandora and its characters, and they are thinking like storytellers, not button-pushers.

"We need our artists. It’s artists in control of the process, right?"

Inside baseball alert: he casually mentions shots hitting version 400 before approval. That is the kind of invisible grind Gen AI does not handle well when the job is world-specific nuance and character-driven choices. Cameron’s takeaway is clear: generative tools might assist, but they are not steering the ship.

So what is he directing next?

Cameron is committed to more Avatar movies, but he also really wants to make Ghosts of Hiroshima in between the sequels. He bought the project from a friend who wrote it, gave the green light for that purchase to be public, and that is where it sits. There is no script he is happy with yet, so there is no timeline. He also has a couple of unannounced projects floating around. The distinction he draws is simple: Ghosts of Hiroshima is one he will direct himself whenever it happens; the other mystery projects he might produce or hand off.

Where everything stands right now

• Terminator: Cameron is supposed to crack a new story but has barely started because real-world AI progress keeps outpacing the concept.
• Avatar: Fire and Ash: Deep in the VFX trenches; the collaborative, artist-first process has him convinced humans are still essential.
• Ghosts of Hiroshima: He bought the piece from a friend; no script he likes yet; he intends to direct it when it is ready.
• Other projects: A couple exist, unannounced; he may or may not direct those himself.

So yes, Cameron is wrestling with AI as a story problem while also arguing it is not a creative replacement. Honestly, that tension makes total sense: if the future keeps arriving early, you either chase it in fiction or double down on the human stuff nobody can fake.