New Avatar films may be put on ice

Avatar: Fire and Ash sported a worldwide box office of $1.4 billion last year, a series low. Now, it seems the fourth flick — and naturally its fifth — in the pentalogy could be put on ice for a bit as simply put, it’s very expensive and very time-consuming.

In an interview with Empire (via World of Reel), it seems franchise creator James Cameron is trying to fix those little issues, seeking ways to make the films “in half the time for two-thirds of the cost.” This comes after Cameron had been very sure the next film would be happening, but this latest report makes it sound like Disney’s trying to reign things in.

If they are, it wouldn’t be too surprising, Fire and Ash might’ve made $1.4 billion, but you have to consider previous entries, both of which landed around the $2 billion marker, with Avatar spawning $2.9 billion in 2009 and the Avatar: Way of Water back in 2022, nabbing $2.3 billion. That’s about a 44% difference between the latter and the third entry.

Moreover, Fire and Ash cost them $400 million to make, which of course that’s probably only accounting for the recording and work done and not any sort of marketing. Odds are, it was closer to $500 or perhaps $600 million overall. As WoR notes in their report, though, there could be a problem if Cameron pushes for the next film too fast, as it may lead to film fatigue within the fanbase.

Right now, it’s expected Avatar 4 will release sometime in 2029.