James Cameron Is Willing to End ‘Avatar’ if ‘Fire and Ash’ Underperforms

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The Avatar movies currently have release dates planned through 2031 with Avatar 5, and James Cameron, the creator, even has ideas for two more films beyond that. However, he says the future of the series depends on how well the third movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash, does in theaters. Considering the first Avatar earned $2.9 billion and Avatar: The Way of Water brought in $2.3 billion, expectations are very high. While Cameron didn’t establish those financial goals, a significant failure for the third film could mean the end of the series.

Cameron made this admission on The Town podcast, where he confessed:

I’m confident this movie will be profitable. The real question is whether it will earn enough to warrant a sequel.

Although fans will likely be upset that the next two planned movies have been cancelled, James Cameron has indicated he’s comfortable ending the Avatar series, explaining that he’s already dedicated a significant amount of time to the world of Pandora.

I started developing the idea for Avatar around 1995, and I’ve been working on it for roughly 30 years now. There was some initial excitement when I first wrote it, but people thought it was a crazy idea, so I put it aside for about ten years. I really started focusing on it again in 2005.

Could ‘Avatar’ Continue Without Cameron?


20th Century Studios 

It had been 13 years between the first Avatar movie and Avatar: The Way of Water, but only three years since the last sequel and the upcoming Fire and Ash. The Avatar series has become a major part of popular culture, much like Star Wars. With George Lucas stepping away from his creation, fans have been wondering if James Cameron would allow another filmmaker to continue the Avatar saga. However, Cameron doesn’t expect to hand it over, as he recently explained.

I have options when it comes to my involvement with the Avatar films. I’ll always be closely involved in producing them, but I need to maintain a balance and prevent it from completely taking over my life. There’s a limit to how much I’m willing to dedicate to it.

While The Way of Water left a few storylines hanging, James Cameron has assured fans that Fire and Ash will offer more closure. Even if the live-action series concludes, he says viewers won’t be left with unanswered questions. He explained:

If the current storyline concludes in a satisfying way, I plan to write a book and address all the questions people have asked.

It’s too early to accurately predict how well Fire and Ash will do in theaters. However, since Avatar 4 isn’t scheduled for release until 2029, James Cameron has time to assess the film’s success – both financially and with audiences – and decide if he wants to continue the series as planned.

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2025-11-26 05:03