James Cameron has wrapped filming Avatar 3 as he waits to see how The Way of Water performs at the box office

James Cameron has invested big in Avatar. He has said he was working on preliminary drafts for the first film since the mid-90s. However, he shelved the project until he felt the technology to realize his vision was sufficient enough. It has since been 13 years since he felt technology had advanced enough to create photorealistic water effects for the epic’s sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. The gamble is even though Avatar became an enormous box office success, with the help of 3D up-charges, the film seemed to come and go without too much impact outside a revitalization of a 3D era in movies. And even then, the fad would see a decline. The Hollywood Reporter sat down with James Cameron and discussed his state of mind as he brings forth a growing franchise that didn’t seem to be in high demand. He even states that Avatar 3 has already wrapped filming and, should the second film in the series flop, he will go ahead with the third. It’s been reported that The Way of Water will have to make $2 billion to see a profit.

We’ll probably finish movie three regardless because it’s all shot. We’d have to really crater for it not to seem like it was worth the additional investment. We’d have to leave a smoking hole in the ground. Now, hopefully, we get to tell the whole thing because five’s better than four, four’s better than three, and three’s better than two.”

As Fox got purchased by Disney in the midst of the sequel’s production, Cameron had to sell Disney on the gamble. “I said [to Disney], ‘You bought this from a bunch of guys at Fox who agreed to a three-hour movie,’ because that’s what we said we were going to do. We’re going to play the epic game. We’ll know by the third weekend. You’re not going to know by the first weekend. Titanic didn’t work that way. Avatar didn’t work that way.”

Avatar: The Way of Water will hit screens on December 16. Are you looking forward to this year’s sequel and Avatar 3? Share your thoughts on these films by leaving a comment below.