When the first “Avatar” hit theaters in 2009, not many people knew what to expect. Obviously, with James Cameron directing, the film is going to be visually stunning and epic. However, no one thought the 3D film would shatter every box office record and hold that crown for a full decade. And it held that record until this year, when “Avengers: Endgame” just crept past it.
But according to a new interview with USA Today, Cameron is quite confident that in 2021, “Avatar 2” will take back the box office crown. In fact, he’s certain of it.
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“I think it’s a certainty,” said the filmmaker. “But let’s give ‘Endgame’ their moment and let’s celebrate that people are going to the movie theater.”
As for progress being made on the “Avatar” sequels, Cameron explained to Variety just where he is in the production cycle, while also commenting about those who question how much time it’s taking him to complete the film(s). Basically, relax, the man is making several movies at once!
“From 2013 until now we’ve mostly designed the whole world across four new movies,” explained Cameron. “We’ve written, finished scripts for all four of those films. We’ve cast them, and we’ve [performance] captured movie 2, movie 3, and the first part of movie 4. We’re mostly done with the live-action. I’ve got a couple months in New Zealand in spring, so we’re kind of on track with what we set out to do.”
He added, “People don’t really understand the scope and complexity of the process. It’s like making two and a half big animated films. A typical big animated film takes about four years, so, if you do the math on that, we’re kind of right on schedule for December 2021.”
The first “Avatar” sequel is expected to arrive on December 17, 2021. From there, you can expect a new film during the holiday season every two years until the fifth and final film is released in 2027.