James Cameron Starting to Question the Future of ‘Avatar’ Sequels

James Cameron says he is weighing the future of the Avatar franchise against other projects he believes could “do the most good,” even as Disney keeps his originally announced two more sequels on its release calendar. The 71-year-old filmmaker has directed The Terminator, Aliens, and Titanic, but his recent work has centered on Pandora. His only non-Avatar directing credit in roughly two decades is the 2026 concert film Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour, which he co-directed with Billie Eilish. Avatar: Fire and Ash, released in 2025, earned about $1.49 billion worldwide. That is a major box office result, but it fell below 2009’s Avatar, which made about $2.92 billion, and Avatar: The Way of Water, which brought in about $2.33 billion. Disney still lists Avatar 4 for Dec. 21, 2029, and Avatar 5 for Dec. 19, 2031. The studio has not announced a change to those dates, though Cameron has said he wants future films made faster and for less money. Cameron addressed his plans after receiving a 2026 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime artistic achievement. He said work on Avatar has been an “unbroken continuum” since 2005, aside from his deep-sea exploration ...