Oona Chaplin as Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash / 20th Century Studios
Avatar creator James Cameron has said that it is “likely” he will proceed with the proposed fourth and fifth films in the franchise.
The third movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash, was released in December and grossed around $1.5 billion – an impressive figure, but down around a third on the second film and just about break even via box office receipts.
Films four and five have been tentatively scheduled for release in December 2029 and December 2031 respectively but have yet to receive solid confirmation.
“To perfectly be clear, we haven’t even made a decision to move forward,” Cameron told reporers, in quotes reported by Screen Rant. “But should I do that – which I will say is likely, but not 100% – we will definitely learn from the lessons of all three films.”
Cameron also revealed that he may alter his plans for the next two movies to feature more of fan favourite Varang, played by Oona Chaplin.
“From Fire and Ash, Varang may need to be written up a little bit moving forward,” he continued. “She kind of just took her place amongst all the others, because there are a lot of characters and plates spinning in the story.
“So, yeah, we might want to make her a little more [prominent]. But that’s good. That’s a good problem to have when people are really responding to an element.
“In The Way of Water, people really responded resoundingly to Payakan. He was literally the highest-rated character in the film. I didn’t tell the actors that. But it’s like, ‘I guess we better put Payakan into Fire and Ash.’ You learn as you go forward. It’s evolving.”
Avatar: Fire and Ash is up for two awards at this weekend’s Oscars – Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects.
