James Cameron has spent decades of his life bringing the world of the Avatar franchise to visceral life for audiences around the globe. With the release of the latest installment, Avatar: Fire and Ash, the beloved series has continued to defy astronomical odds and remain the most consistently lucrative franchise in cinema history. However, in recent interviews, the cinematic mad genius behind it all has hinted that if and when the Avatar franchise returns, it may not bear the traditional ‘directed by James Cameron’ title card anymore.
In light of this news, many have speculated about who could possibly take over the franchise, and one director has stepped up and thrown their own name into the hat: James Wan.
During a recent interview with Screen Rant, the highly successful filmmaker was asked about what ambitious undertaking he’d like to tackle next and responded, “I have not done Avatar. Yeah, if you could put a good one for me with James Cameron, I'd love to take a crack at that.”
Wan is the director behind some of the biggest unexpected successes of the past few decades, being the creative architect behind a vast and varied litany of films such as Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring, Furious 7, and Aquaman. Wan is no stranger to big-budget blockbusters, heavy CGI, or stepping in to shepherd established franchises during tumultuous change-overs.
Notably, both of Wan’s Aqauaman films are heavily inspired by Cameron’s own work on Avatar, utilizing the kind of motion capture that Cameron and co. pioneered to flesh out these entirely digitized cityscapes, full of imaginative bioluminescent creatures and settings.
Ever since initially setting out to craft a follow-up to his 2009 record-breaking game-changer Avatar, Cameron has remained adamant that the plan is to deliver a five-film series. However, it is clear that the sheer amount of work that goes into making these films is taking a toll on Cameron, as the difference between his excitement for making more of them during the press tour for The Way of Water in 2022 and during the press for Fire and Ash in 2025 is palpable. The fourth and fifth films are already scripted, with a section of the fourth installment even filmed.
Between this and Fire and Ash’s billion-dollars-and-counting gross, it's safe to say Disney will be eager to get those two final installments working sooner rather than later, but the question remains: will James Cameron return? If not, audiences may very well learn what James Wan’s Avatar 4 looks like.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is playing now in theaters. Check out our review, and watch it on the biggest screen you can find.