James Cameron Is Ready to Make Movies That Aren’t AVATAR Again

For more than a decade now, James Cameron has been living in the world of Pandora. With Avatar stretching toward a planned five-film run and the next chapter, Avatar: Fire and Ash, almost here, it would be easy to assume Cameron is content staying blue for the rest of his career.

That assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. As it turns out, Cameron is itching to stretch beyond the Avatar universe again and he’s being pretty candid about it.

In a wide-ranging profile with The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron admitted that while the Avatar saga still has stories left to tell, the future of the franchise isn’t guaranteed. Even with Sigourney Weaver calling the upcoming films “so amazing,” Cameron says the third movie could very well be the stopping point if audiences don’t show up.

“This can be the last one. There’s only one [unanswered question] in the story. We may find that the release of Avatar 3 proved how diminished the cinematic experience is these days, or we may find it proves the case that it’s as strong as it ever was—but only for certain types of films. It’s a coin toss right now. We won’t know until the middle of January.”

Cameron didn’t exactly say which outcome he’s rooting for. Instead, he flipped the question back, wondering aloud whether it would be better for Fire and Ash to become a massive hit that locks him into more sequels, or to stumble just enough to give him a clean exit to pursue other ideas.

“I’ve got other stories to tell, and I’ve got other stories to tell, and I’ve got other stories to tell within Avatar. What won’t happen is, I won’t go down the rabbit hole of exclusively making only Avatar for multiple years.

“I’m going to figure out another way that involves more collaboration. I’m not saying I’m going to step away as a director, but I’m going to pull back from being as hands-on with every tiny aspect of the process.”

That shift could open the door to a surprisingly diverse slate of projects. In the near term, Cameron has a 3D Billie Eilish concert documentary titled Hit Me Hard and Soft on the way, which doesn’t interest me at all.

He’s also still pushing forward on Ghost of Hiroshima, a long-gestating passion project that now has a script in place.

For longtime fans hoping for something more squarely in Cameron’s sci-fi comfort zone, there’s also the possibility of a return to The Terminator franchise. Cameron confirmed he’s actively thinking about it and plans to dive in once Avatar clears his schedule.

“Once the dust clears on Avatar in a couple months, I’m going to really plunge into that. There are a lot of narrative problems to solve. The biggest is how do I stay enough ahead of what’s really happening to make it science fiction.”

Those Terminator ideas are still early and far from locked in, but with franchises like Alien and Predator finding new life, It seems like the right time for Cameron to take another crack at Terminator. He even pointed out what he doesn’t want to repeat after watching Alien: Earth.

“I’m not criticizing it, but I was there for Aliens, what 41 years ago? Something like that wouldn’t be of interest to me.”

One thing Cameron is completely certain about is that his Terminator future won’t include Arnold Schwarzenegger. He made it clear that chapter has closed.

“I can safely say he won’t be [in it]. It’s time for a new generation of characters. I insisted Arnold had to be involved in [2019’s] Termimator: Dark Fate, and it was a great finish to him playing the T-800.

“There needs to be a broader interpretation of Terminator and the idea of a time war and super intelligence. I want to do new stuff that people aren’t imagining.”

Cameron also didn’t shy away from addressing criticism about spending so much of his career on Avatar. When THR brought up a Reddit post questioning whether his long-term focus on the franchise was a waste of his talent, Cameron didn’t mince words.

“I’m feeling fulfilled as an artist, and when [those critical fans] become filmmakers, they can make those types of decisions for themselves—or just stay the f*ck out of it.

“It’s my decision, not yours. It’s like saying, ‘Gee, I wish she wasn’t married to the same guy for so long.’ It’s none of your business.”

Whether Avatar: Fire and Ash becomes another box office juggernaut or a natural off-ramp, it’s clear Cameron isn’t done experimenting, challenging himself, or looking for new cinematic frontiers. Pandora may still be calling, but for the first time in a while, Cameron is clearly listening to other voices too.

Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters and IMAX on December 19.