It’s fair to say that, even though Avatar quickly became the biggest film of all time when it was released back in 2009, news that not one, not two, but four sequels would be on the way was met with some surprise. While the ancient adage goes that you never bet against James Cameron, was the director biting off more than he could chew by pitching that many follow-ups to the tale of Jake Sully and the people of Pandora? What kind of narrative, exactly, could demand four films’ worth of storytelling? It’s a feat not entirely unprecedented – decades ago, when J.R.R Tolkien debuted The Hobbit and started publishing the Lord Of The Rings books 17 years later, perhaps his plans seemed similarly bold. And make no mistake – that’s the kind of scale that Cameron is working on here.
Speaking to Empire in the upcoming, world-exclusive Avatar: The Way Of Water issue, the filmmaker opened up about the plans he’s been cooking up for over a decade now. “What I said to the Fox regime at the time was, ‘I’ll do it, but we’ve got to play a larger game here. I don’t want to just do a movie and do a movie and do a movie. I want to tell a bigger story’,” he explains. That meant a comparison with a certain literary saga. “I said, ‘Imagine a series of novels like The Lord Of The Rings existed, and we’re adapting them.’ Now, that was great in theory, but then I had to go create the frickin’ novels from which to adapt it.”
And create he did. The Way Of Water, coming this December, and the as-yet-untitled Avatar 3, due in 2024, shot back-to-back – and the plan is that Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 will film together further down the line. For all that Cameron is characteristically confident in his vision, going big with Avatar wasn’t an easy call. “I had to think long and hard whether I even wanted to make another Avatar film, because it was kind of ours to lose,” he explains. “When you’ve done something that’s been that transcendent in terms of success, do you really want to go try and do that again? There’s a lot of pressure on it. I thought about it for a good two years before we finally made a deal.” Still if there’s any filmmaker who can withstand an ocean’s worth of pressure, it’s James Cameron. Bring on The Way Of Water.
Empire’s Avatar: The Way Of Water issue hits newsstands on Thursday 7 July, with unparalleled access to the film and its cast and crew – heading to Cameron’s Lightstorm HQ and talking to the director himself, as well as producer Jon Landau, stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, and plenty more. Plus, it’s stacked with never-before-seen images, opening up the world of Pandora like never before.
Pre-order a copy online here – and stay tuned to empireonline.com for more major exclusives. Avatar: The Way Of Water comes to UK cinemas from 16 December.