James Cameron Shuts Down Studio Doubts on Splitting an Avatar Sequel With One Line About Two Billion Dollars
James Cameron had a $2 billion argument for the Avatar studio: split The Way of Water into two films.
James Cameron explained why he split his giant Avatar sequel into two movies, and yeah, his defense is basically: have you seen the box office?
So, why split the sequel?
Per Andrew J. Salazar over at Discussing Film, what became Avatar: The Way of Water and the next film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, started life as a single movie. Somewhere along the way, Cameron broke it in two. That creative call sparked a very specific rumor: that he just forged ahead on more Avatar without looping in the studio because they would say yes anyway.
The studio pushback (and Cameron's math)
Cameron says that rumor oversimplifies it. He did hear concerns from the studio. His answer was not exactly subtle.
"I got a fair bit of pushback from the studio."
"My counter-argument was, 'Wait a minute, what part of you getting another chance to make two billion dollars is in question here?'"
Hard to argue with that. The first Avatar is still the all-time box office champ at about $2.9 billion worldwide. Avengers: Endgame sits at $2.7 billion, and Avatar: The Way of Water is right behind it at around $2.3 billion. If your franchise prints money, splitting a mega-story into two films starts to look less like indulgence and more like a business plan.
What Fire and Ash brings in
Fire and Ash introduces a new Na'vi group, the Mangkwan — also called the Ash People — who are described as more hot-headed than the clans we have met so far. They follow a new antagonist, Varang, played by Oona Chaplin.
Early chatter
The first reactions to the threequel have been overwhelmingly upbeat. Early audiences and a handful of critics are calling out the movie's boundary-pushing visuals and, in some cases, labeling Fire and Ash the best of the series so far.
What comes next
Avatar 4 is dated for December 21, 2029, with Avatar 5 set for December 19, 2031. If Fire and Ash lands like the last two, Cameron will have a few billion in studio goodwill to burn through by then.