James Cameron hopes that Avatar 2 will prove that the first one was no fluke

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Six years later and James Cameron's AVATAR is still the most profitable film in the world by quite a large margin. A sequel was pretty much a no-brainer but when it was revealed that Cameron was working on not one, but three, additional sequels to AVATAR, it seemed excessive. AVATAR obviously has its fans and the sheer spectacle of seeing the world of Pandora up on the big-screen was an unequaled experience, but three more sequels? James Cameron seems aware that he can't simply repeat what he did before; while speaking to Entertainment Weekly he expressed his desire for the sequel(s) to prove that AVATAR was no fluke.

Obviously, expectations are going to be very high on these films, especially on Avatar 2, to make sure it wasn’t just some big fluke the first time. So we’ve got to deliver. I’ve created a nice rod for my own back, so they say.

Work on the AVATAR sequels has been underway in some form ever since the first film was released and four different screenwriters have been working with James Cameron on each of the sequels which will film simultaneously. Cameron updated EW on where he and his team are at in the development process.

I’m in the process of doing another pass through all three scripts right now, just refining. That’s in parallel with the design process. The design process is very mature at this point. We’ve been designing for about a year and a half. All the characters, settings and creatures are all pretty much [set].

The first of the AVATAR sequels is expected to be released in late 2017.