James Cameron says he’s ready Avatar: Fire and Ashes doesn’t deliver the box office numbers Disney needs to greenlight the final two films in the franchise.
Speaking on Matt Belloni’s The Town podcast ahead of the release of the third film, Cameron discussed the financial realities of making a film with a huge budget.
“I have no doubt this movie will make money,” he said. “The question is, will it make enough money to do it again? If this is where it ends up, cool.”
Cameron said that Fire and Ash have almost wrapped up everything, but there is still one storyline open. If the franchise ends now, he will finish the story in a book.
He also made it clear that if the series continues, he will not be stepping aside. “I don’t think there will ever be a version where there is another Avatar film that I did not produce up close,” he said.
The first Avatar (2009) remains the highest-grossing film of all time, with nearly $3 billion in worldwide box office. The sequel, The waterway (2022), earned $2.3 billion. Disney currently has two more sequels planned for release in December 2029 and December 2031.
