Avatar: The Way of Water has enjoyed blockbusting success in the UK and the world over. In fact, the film's profitable run means that director James Cameron can officially move ahead with Avatars 4 and 5, due out in 2026 and 2028.
Cameron has said that the future of the Avatar franchise was conditional on The Way of Water's performance. With the movie closing in on the $2 billion mark, the future of the Na'vi on the big screen seems all but secured.
“It looks like just with the momentum that the film has now that we’ll easily pass our break-even in the next few days, so it looks like I can’t wiggle out of this — I’m gonna have to do these other sequels,” Cameron told The Hollywood Reporter. “I know what I’m going to be doing the next six or seven years. The point is we’re going to be OK.
"I’m sure that we’ll have a discussion soon with the top folks at Disney about the game plan going forward for Avatar 3, which is already in the can – we’ve already captured and photographed the whole film, so we’re in extended postproduction to do all that CG magic.
"And then Avatar 4 and 5 are both written. We even have some of 4 in the can. We’ve begun a franchise at this point. We’ve begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films.”
Avatar 3 was shot concurrently with The Way of Water and is set for release in December 2024. We expect it to pick up with the story of Na'vi fugitives Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and their kids after they've left the aquatic Metkayina tribe behind.
Producer Jon Landau has already intimated that Avatar 5 will bring the Na'vi to Earth, although, unsurprisingly, he wouldn't give specifics.
Are you ready for several more years of Pandoran majesty? Don't forget that Avatar: The Way of Water is currently on release at Cineworld cinemas.
Read more about how Avatar 2 sets up Avatar 3.