What will become of the Avatar saga if Avatar: Fire and Ash fails to bring in the box office revenue needed to secure the future of Avatar 4 and 5? According to the franchise’s creator, James Cameron, he is ready to step aside if necessary. For fans seeking closure, Cameron has expressed his willingness to conclude the story through a book instead of another film.

The Avatar series is known for its staggering budgets, primarily due to its extensive visual effects. Historically, this hefty investment has been justified, as the films have collectively grossed billions. With the release of Fire and Ash set for December, Disney is banking on another blockbuster success. Cameron, too, requires this win to continue the narrative journey he has planned for the next six years.

In a candid discussion on the podcast The Town with Matthew Belloni, Cameron acknowledged the mounting pressure, particularly with the challenges facing movie theaters by 2025.

He expressed concerns about the risk of “sequelitis,” stating, “Audiences often dismiss sequels unless it’s like the third Lord of the Rings film, where there’s a strong desire to see the conclusion of the storyline. That’s how I envision this — as the culmination of a narrative arc, though the public may not view it the same way.”

Cameron also highlighted the challenges posed by the dual impact of streaming services and the Covid pandemic, noting that cinema attendance has only rebounded to about 75% of its 2019 levels.

Cameron wouldn’t reveal the movie’s exact budget, but he didn’t pretend it was cheap. Instead, he joked, “It is one metric fk ton of money, which means we have to make two metric fk tons of money to make a profit.”

He added, “I have no doubt in my mind that this movie will make money. The question is, does it make enough money to justify doing it again?”

And that’s where things get real: Cameron said he’s “absolutely” ready to walk away if Fire and Ash doesn’t hit expectations.

“I’ve been in Avatar land for 20 years,” he said. “Actually 30 years because I wrote it in ‘95… Yeah, absolutely, sure. If this is where it ends, cool.”

But what about lingering story threads?

“There’s one open thread. I’ll write a book!” he quipped.

One thing he won’t do? Hand off the franchise to someone else. That’s an “absolutely not!”
“I have choices there,” he explained. “There are levels in which I immerse… I don’t think there’d ever be a version where there’s another Avatar movie that I didn’t produce closely.”

Avatar 4 is currently slated for December 21, 2029, with Avatar 5 following December 19, 2031 — which would put Cameron, now 71, pushing 80 by the time Pandora’s story comes to an end.

The original Avatar remains the highest-grossing film of all time (not adjusted for inflation), topping out at $2.9 billion. Its follow-up, Avatar: The Way of Water, earned $2.3 billion, making it the third-highest grossing film ever — just ahead of Cameron’s own Titanic.

But can Fire and Ash get anywhere near those numbers? The only film to cross $2 billion since Way of Water was Ne Zha 2, and the theatrical landscape has changed dramatically in just the past few years.

The question now: can Cameron pull off another Pandora-sized miracle?