James Cameron Wants To Prove AVATAR Wasn't A Fluke

Evergreen Movie Avatar 2 Avatar James Cameron about 9 years agoby Ben Pearson

Though it broke records and become the highest grossing movie of all time, James Cameron's Avatar doesn't seem to have made any lasting impact on pop culture. Even the 3D boom it ushered in has thankfully started to die off, with audiences now understanding that most films are post-converted to 3D for the sole reason of studios being able to squeeze out a little more cash out of unsuspecting patrons. But I don't hear a lot of references to Avatar in conversations among film geeks, and it's incredibly rare (if impossible) to find a working filmmaker who says they're trying to do something similar; contrast that with producers, writers, and directors who can't seem to stop comparing their movies to, say, The Dark Knight or even The Hunger Games.

But Cameron is convinced that the success of Avatar wasn't simply a case of "right movie, right time," and he wants to prove it. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the writer/director gave an update about progress on the three sequels that are supposed to go into production soon:

“I’m in the process of doing another pass through all three scripts right now,” Cameron told EW during a recent phone interview. “Just refining. That’s in parallel with the design process. The design process is very mature at this point. We’ve been designing for about a year and a half. All the characters, settings and creatures are all pretty much [set].”

When asked if the process has been any easier this time around, the bravest pioneer replied:

“No,” Cameron said, laughing. “Because you have to challenge yourself. Obviously, expectations are going to be very high on these films, especially on Avatar 2, to make sure it wasn’t just some big fluke the first time. So we’ve got to deliver. I’ve created a nice rod for my own back, so they say.”

Will audiences want to return to Pandora with the same fervor and rabid intensity that they did back in 2009? We'll finally know in just a couple more years, since Avatar 2 is scheduled to arrive in theaters in late 2017.