Disney has pushed back ‘Avatar 3’ by a year, from December 2024 to December 2025. Additionally, ‘Avatar 4’ will now hit theaters in December 2029, followed by ‘Avatar 5’ in December 2031.
Why such a big gap between 3 and 4? Because James Cameron shot 2 and 3 back-to-back and hasn’t filmed 4 and 5 yet. If the second one had failed, then they were going to end after 3.
Cameron will be 76 by the time time the fifth Avatar is released in theaters. He’s going to be making ‘Avatar’ movies for the rest of his life.
Cameron has been sucked up by the 3D virtual reality that is Pandora and, by all accounts, he doesn’t mind staying there for the rest of his career.
However, he told the Los Angeles Times that, after comllwting “Avatar 3,” he might direct a long-gestating passion project of his called "The Last Train From Hiroshima.”
Back in 2010, Cameron had optioned Charles Pellegrino's nonfiction book "The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back." Cameron put up his own money to get the option.
The Canadian director started working on the first “Avatar” movie around 1999/2000. From a filmmaking standpoint, it’s all he’s been concentrating on since then. That means that by 2031, Cameron would have almost exclusively worked on these damn ‘Avatar’ movies for 30 years.
I’m not saying it’s a waste of time, he seems to be genuinely passionate about these movies and the sequel made boatloads of money. However, from my point of view, as someone who was thrilled to no ends by Cameron’s visual miracles in “The Terminator,” “T2,” “Aliens,” and “Titanic,” I can’t help but hope he distances himself from Pandora and, at least, makes ‘Hiroshima.’