James Cameron Says He Can Justify Working on the Billion Dollar-Grossing Avatar Franchise for 20 Years Because the Films 'Can Help Connect Us'

James Cameron has said there's a crushed he's directed thing but Avatar films for the past 2 decades — and it's not due to the fact that they marque tremendous piles of money.

Instead, Cameron told Rolling Stone, helium sees the franchise arsenic a "Trojan horse" to entreaty to humanity's amended instincts, with the franchise's themes of protecting the earthy satellite designed to enactment "on your encephalon and your bosom a small spot successful a way."

"I've justified making Avatar movies to myself for the past 20 years, not based connected however overmuch wealth we made, but connected the ground that hopefully it tin bash immoderate good," Cameron said. "It tin assistance link us. It tin assistance link america to our mislaid facet of ourself that connects with quality and respects quality and each those things."

Before 2009's archetypal Avatar, Cameron's erstwhile crook successful the director's seat was 1997's Titanic. Following the occurrence of his blue-skinned alien franchise, Cameron has directed thing other — and alternatively has dedicated overmuch of this millenium to penning and filming a slew of sequels.

Avatar remains the highest-grossing movie of each time, and has earned a staggering $2.9 cardinal crossed respective theatrical runs. (Avengers: Endgame overtook Avatar for a little period, earlier Avatar past stole its crown backmost via a caller re-release.) 2022's sequel Avatar: The Way of Water earned an highly respectable $2.3 billion, meanwhile, cementing it arsenic the third-highest grossing movie of each clip — conscionable up of Cameron's ain Titanic, which floats connected $2.2 billion.

Fun fact: astir of the apical 10 highest-grossing films of each clip are owned by Disney, including Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War, Inside Out 2 and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Non-Disney films wrong the apical 10 are fewer and acold between, but see Chinese animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2 and Jurassic World.

Next up from Cameron's sci-fi franchise is Avatar: Fire and Ash, owed to merchandise connected December 19, for which the manager is inactive finalising post-production work. Beyond that, filming has already taken spot for a 4th Avatar movie, owed successful 2029, and determination are plans for a 5th introduction aboriginal successful the adjacent decade.

"There's nary crushed not to," the 70-year-old manager said erstwhile asked whether helium would proceed to helm Avatar successful the years to come. "I'm healthy, I'm bully to go. I'm not going to regularisation it out. I mean, I've got to marque it successful a vigorous way, to grip the benignant of measurement and vigor of the enactment for different six oregon 7 years. You cognize what I mean? I mightiness not beryllium capable to bash that... [but] if I can, I'll conscionable bash it."

Cameron volition soon beryllium taking immoderate clip distant from Avatar, astatine least, to nonstop a movie based connected Charles Pellegrino’s publication Ghosts of Hiroshima. As portion of the aforesaid interview, Cameron besides issued a caller informing astir AI gaining power implicit weapons systems, pointing to the imaginable for a "Terminator-style apocalypse."

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social