Josh Brolin ticked off James Cameron by turning down Avatar 2

To work with James Cameron has been a dream for many for decades, especially since he’s only made three films in the past 25 years. But when Josh Brolin had the chance to be directed by James Cameron on the Avatar sequel, he turned it down outright, promptly getting on the wrong side of the Oscar winner.

Appearing on In Depth with Graham Bensinger (via EW), Josh Brolin remembered James Cameron taking the Avatar 2 rejection as a personal slight. Now two years removed from the release of The Way of Water, Brolin admits, “I understand it, because when you have something in your mind and you have a status and a power…you’re used to people feeling really grateful that you are offering it to them.” He added, “I don’t know if that’s the case with him because I don’t know him well enough. But it was based on the [project]. It wasn’t based on him.”

Keep in mind that 2009’s Avatar still stands as the highest-grossing film ever, taking in close to $3 billion worldwide. So you knew that The Way of Water was going to get in that neighborhood, which it kind of did, being just one of just six films to ever make more than $2 billion at the worldwide box office (yes, Titanic ranks there as well). Josh Brolin probably could have talked himself into a box office point, especially if James Cameron was personally seeking him out. That Brolin turned down such a high-profile film and a potential huge payday because he just didn’t see the value in the material (despite Cameron running the show) says a lot about his character in that regard…Perhaps it had to do with the awful dialogue?

But James Cameron and Josh Brolin are obviously doing just fine without each other, with the director aiming for more Avatar movies and Brolin leaning into two entirely different sci-fi franchises: playing Thanos in the MCU and teaming with his Sicario director Denis Villeneuve for his Dune films.

What do you think of Josh Brolin turning down James Cameron? Did it matter or should he have taken the opportunity?