James Cameron is determined to direct the ‘Avatar’ sequels “unless [he’s] hit by a bus”.
James Cameron is determined to direct the Avatar sequels
The 69-year-old filmmaker is currently working on the third movie in the sci-fi series, ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, but he is already looking to the future and is wholly dedicated to helm the next two planned instalments unless he ends up “in an iron lung”.
When The Hollywood Reporter asked Cameron if he was still planning to helm the franchise past the third instalment, he said: “Sure. Absolutely. I mean, they’re going to have to stop me.
“I got plenty of energy, love doing what I’m doing. Why would I not? And they’re written, by the way.
“I just reread both of them about a month ago. They’re cracking stories. They’ve got to get made. Look, if I get hit by a bus and I’m in an iron lung, somebody else is going to do it.”
The 'Titanic' director also recently confirmed Michelle Yeoh, 62, would be debuting in the franchise as Dr. Karina Mogue in the fourth instalment instead of the upcoming ’Fire and Ash’ - which is due to release on 19 December 2025.
Cameron told Entertainment Weekly: “Michelle Yeoh won’t be in 3. She’s in 4 and 5.”
He continued: “She will be coming in soon to do her part, which is an interesting, fun character.
“I mean, we’re getting ahead of ourselves now. This whole thing has been planned for years and years. The scripts were all written years ago, through the end of movie 5. So we’ve been working on parts of 4 even as we go along, mostly because we’ve got this young cast. We had to shoot them all while they were still young.
"We love Michelle. She was always a movie star, but she's blown up into a huge, huge phenomenon. I look forward to working there.”
Speaking about the upcoming blockbuster at Disney’s recent D23 event - which took place at the Anaheim Convention Center in California - Cameron teased what audiences could expect when the third flick hit theatres next year.
He said: “The characters are so alive, and it feels so real. It’s also got very high emotional stakes — more than ever before.
“We’re going into really challenging territory for all the characters you know and love. The new film is not what you expect, but it’s definitely what you want.”
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