James Cameron Hints ‘Avatar’ 4 and 5 May Never Happen
James Cameron recently talked about the future of the Avatar series during an interview on The Town with Matthew Belloni podcast, and the picture he painted was not fully confident.
He said he was nervous about how Avatar: Fire and Ash might perform at the box office because movie theaters in 2025 are dealing with several problems. Cameron pointed to what he called possible “sequelitis,” explaining that audiences can sometimes lose interest in follow-ups.
He said in the interview, “People tend to dismiss sequels unless it’s the third Lord of the Rings film and you want to see what happens to everybody, which in my mind this is — this is the culmination of a story arc, but that may not be how the public sees it.”
Cameron also said that streaming and the effects of Covid have changed moviegoing. According to him, theaters are only seeing around 75 percent of the audience they had in 2019. This has made it harder for big movies to earn what they used to.
When Belloni asked about the budget for Avatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron avoided naming the actual cost. He still made it clear that the film was extremely expensive, saying, “It is one metric f**** ton of money, which means we have to make two metric f***** tons of money to make a profit.”
He added that he believed the film would make money, but the real question was whether it would make enough to convince the studio to continue with more sequels. He said, “The question is, does it make enough money to justify doing it again?”
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third film in the Avatar series. Cameron directed it and co-wrote it with Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, based on a story they developed with Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. The movie was produced by Lightstorm Entertainment and will be released by 20th Century Studios. Many cast members from the earlier films are returning, including Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and others.
Cameron has wanted to continue the Avatar story since the first movie came out in 2009. In early 2010 he announced plans for two sequels, but the project became much larger over time. New underwater performance-capture technology had to be created, and writing and production took longer than expected. Avatar: Fire and Ash was filmed in New Zealand at the same time as Avatar: The Way of Water, starting in 2017 and finishing in late 2020.
From Director James Cameron, watch the trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash.
— Avatar (@officialavatar) July 28, 2025
Experience the film only in theaters December 19. pic.twitter.com/Y0D4EUGU7x
The movie has faced nine release delays. It is now planned to premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on December 1, with a U.S. release on December 19. Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 are still in development and are currently scheduled for 2029 and 2031, but Cameron’s comments suggest their future may depend heavily on how well Fire and Ash performs.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!