James Cameron has found his three sequels to Avatar a little too confining for his ultimate vision, so he’s decided to make four sequels.
Four!
And “no less than four,” he said when he dropped this news at CinemaCon. He also said Avatar is getting the theme park treatment, comics, spin-offs… basically, James Cameron has now staked the rest of his entire directorial career to the Avatar wagon. “It’s going to be a true epic saga that’s told in this rich and complex world,” Cameron told the audience.
Good luck getting any new original content from Cameron, who certainly seems to be losing his mind with this Avatar business. The dates for these sequels (aside from being as tentative as hell) are 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023. Cameron turns 62 this year, and he will be 69 when the final Avatar hits theaters. Of course, that isn’t the end of the road for many directors, but churning out four sequels to a movie nobody is clamoring to see more of sure seems like a strange time to spend the twilight of your career.
And that’s the issue here. Who is eager to jump back into the world of the Na’vi? The only time these Avatar sequels find the news cycle is when Cameron announces he’s adding a sequel or delaying the FIRST SEQUEL again. It made all the money, it was great looking in 3D, but in between the 2009 release and today, the imitators diluted the 3D market. 3D is on its way out steadily, and I don’t personally know anyone who uses it voluntarily. Avatar’s gimmickry has already run its course in pop culture, so what we’re left with is a movie.
That movie beneath all the pomp and circumstance is middling to say the least. Without re-treading all the Dances With Wolves comparisons and stale arguments, let’s just say the demand for more of this doesn’t appear to match the intensity of Cameron’s dedication.
