Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time. Heck, even after adjusting for inflation it’s still in the top 15. So, it’s never been a matter of if but when as far as further cinematic adventures with the na’vi of Pandora are concerned. However, this might be a bit much.
James Cameron is doing not just one, not just two, but three sequels.
Maybe you didn’t hear me. There are going to be three sequels to Avatar! What the smurf!
From the LATimes:
Fox announced Thursday that Cameron has hired Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planets of the Apes), and Shane Salerno (Savages, Salinger) to collaborate with him on the screenplays for the three films, all of which will be shot simultaneously, with production beginning next year.
Avatar 2 is scheduled to be released in December 2016, with subsequent films following in December 2017 and December 2018.
This isn’t that crazy, though. Cameron has long since said that there would be two sequels, but learning there will be a third Avatar sequel is just as surprising as it was when we found out earlier this summer that Sony plans on doing three sequels and not just two to The Amazing Spider-Man. However, in this case at least Sony has years of Marvel comic books from which to draw new material. Avatar is coming completely from the brain of James Cameron, and now also Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Shane Salerno. Is there really enough dramatic material here to warrant three sequels?
Cameron sure thinks so, “Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that Avatar’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. And to help me continue to expand this universe, I’m pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh — all writers I’ve long admired – to join me in completing the films screenplays.”
So, that’s happening. Why? Mostly because James Cameron can. He is the guy who made Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Titanic, and Avatar. That is literally billions of dollars of worldwide box office gross. The king of the cinematic world can do whatever he wants at this point.
