James Cameron Might Not Direct All 5 Avatar Films

James Cameron started an ambitious saga as he overtook the directional duties of the Avatar series. While the first Avatar installment was a massive hit and a feat in the world of CGI, the second part of the film is finally coming out after 13 long years.

Avatar: The Way of Water releases in the theaters in December. The plans for the Avatar series extend as far as the fifth installment, which might not happen for another decade. James Cameron thinks he would pass on the directorial torch before that.

The director was in a conversation with Empire. He revealed that Avatar part 3 would be the last time he might take up his role as the director in the series. He said that there are other projects he’s developing, and the Avatar films are very consuming.

The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming. I’ve got some other things I’m developing as well that are exciting. I think eventually over time – I don’t know if that’s after three or after four – I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in. Or maybe not. I don’t know.

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Cameron said that he has some massive plans for the upcoming Avatar films. He described Avatar 4 as a “motherf*cker.” However, its future depends on whether the market responds positively to the idea. The films are his way of commenting on climate, sustainability of resources and the importance of family, he said.

Everything I need to say about family, about sustainability, about climate, about the natural world, the themes that are important to me in real life and in my cinematic life, I can say on this canvas. I got more excited as I went along. Movie four is a corker. It’s a motherf*cker. I actually hope I get to make it. But it depends on market forces. Three is in the can, so it’s coming out regardless. I really hope that we get to make four and five because it’s one big story, ultimately

Avatar 3 is already under development, so it is an inevitability. Cameron giving someone else the directorial helm is going to be very unique, as the project was entirely his. While he might give up the project after film 3, he’ll try really hard to make it happen. He recently revealed a huge spoiler on Sigourney Weaver’s role in Avatar 2.

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