Critically-acclaimed director James Cameron has just confirmed in a very recent interview that the major reason why the release date of “Avatar 2” was moved from December 2017 to December 2018 is because he does not want any of the movie sequels of the “Avatar” franchise to go head-to-head in the box office with any of the sequels of the “Star Wars” franchise.
Incidentally, Cameron also confirmed that instead of the previously reported three “Avatar” sequels, he will actually be working on four sequels, which means it will be up to “Avatar 5.”
He also said that he plans to make all four “Avatar” sequels at once in a move he boldly compared to Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” epic crime trilogy, reports The Independent of UK.
Cameron said that it will be one big production and it would be like shooting a miniseries. He adds that it is going to be a big challenge to keep it all fixed in their minds, with regards to where exactly they all are across the story arc at any given point. He describes it as if he will be doing all three “The Godfather” films at the same time.
The director also disclosed that the release date plans for the “Avatar” sequels were crafted in a way to avoid competition with the “Star Wars” franchise.
He revealed that his original plan was to release the “Avatar” sequels a year apart but they have decided to open it up. He explained that if for no other reason than that, he does not want to land on the same date as one of the “Star Wars” sequels.
Based on the latest schedules of release dates for the four “Avatar” sequels, “Avatar 2” would hit theaters in December 2018, “Avatar 3” in December 2020, “Avatar 4” in December 2022, and “Avatar 5” in December 2023, details Movies.
‘Avatar’ theme park
Although Cameron did not say why he specifically does not want to go head-to-head with any of the “Star Wars’ sequels, it seems that he and Disney have come to a special agreement.
This has become apparent when he also announced during the recent CinemaCon that Disney has given the franchise a new theme park called “Pandora: The World of Avatar,” which is going to be part of Disney’s “Animal Kingdom.”
In addition to the objective of entertaining kids, the theme park is also meant to make people remember what “Avatar” is, which would be crucial when the first sequel finally arrives in theaters in 2018 or some nine years after the first movie came out.
Disney has teased that the new “Avatar” theme park will open next year in time for the entertainment conglomerate’s “Awaken Summer” event. The company also showcased a revealing new video that gives people a glimpse at just how far the effects have evolved since the release of the world’s most successful film of all time in the box-office back in 2009.
The storyline is more important
The push back in the release date of “Avatar 2” from December 2017 to a still undisclosed date may be a big issue to fans, who have been waiting for the sequel to the most successful film in history, but it is not a big deal to critically-acclaimed director James Cameron.
For Cameron, the release date of the movie is not as important as its storyline, its setting, and photography. The director is not the type who makes a big fuss about making it on time or beating deadlines. Because for him, coming up with a quality movie is what’s important.
That has been his trademark and his success as a filmmaker is very obvious with “Avatar” and “Titanic” which happen to be the top two highest grossing movies of all time.