There’s been a lot of chatter about whether James Cameron will be able to get the greenlight to make Avatar 4 and Avatar 5.
Cameron previously told CrewCall that “we have to make a lot of money in order to continue,” though he did not specify an exact figure. The concern largely comes down to how costly the Avatar films are to produce, and whether the technology involved will become cheaper three or four years from now.
That said, Cameron has already shot scenes for the fourth installment, some of which feature a new cast member: Michelle Yeoh (via TVBS News Japan).
Michelle Yeoh is definitely going to be in Avatar 4—if we make it. The movie industry is depressed right now, and Avatar 3 cost a lot of money. We have to do well to continue. We not only have to succeed, but also find a way to make Avatar 4 more inexpensively in order to move forward. Michelle will be in Avatar 4 and Avatar 5. She will play a performance-capture character. Her character’s name is Palakpuelat, and she is Na’vi.
Cameron shot “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” and a portion of “Avatar 4” back-to-back during the earlier years of production (roughly 2017–2020), largely due to logistical concerns such as the ages of the younger cast members. As part of that extended shoot, Michelle Yeoh did film some scenes for “Avatar 4.”
Meanwhile, let’s tackle the numbers. “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which reportedly cost around $400M to produce, is closing in on the $1.3 billion mark at the global box office and, by most accounts, is likely at its break-even point. The problem is that the previous installment, “The Way of Water,” earned $2.3 billion worldwide. With each “Avatar” installment, the box-office returns have trended lower.
That said, as Cameron specified above, “if he can find a way to make ‘Avatar 4’ at a slightly lower budget ($300M?), then there’s no reason for Disney not to give him the OK and make ‘Avatar 4.’” These movies are still major money makers, and there’s no reason to retire a franchise that, time and again, has seen each installment hit the $1 billion mark with relative ease.
In the meantime, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is still in theaters, topping the box office for the past four weeks, and projections suggest it will end its run at around $1.6 billion worldwide. Not too shabby—especially if you take into account a motto that many in the industry seem to have been using these last few years: “$800M is the new $1 billion.”