James Wan Would "Love to Take a Crack" at James Cameron’s AVATAR Universe

James Wan has spent years building massive cinematic worlds, from underwater superhero epics like Aquaman to genre-defining horror franchises like The Conjurning. Now, the director is eyeing another ocean sized playground with Pandora.

In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Wan shared that he’d be more than open to stepping into the Avatar franchise if James Cameron ever decided to hand over the directing reins. It’s just a casual thought for now, but an exciting one, especially considering Wan’s experience with large-scale visual storytelling.

"I have not done Avatar," Wan said. "Yeah, if you could put a good one for me with James Cameron, I'd love to take a crack at that."

Wan’s filmography makes the idea easy to imagine. Beyond Aquaman, he’s directed genre staples like Insidious, The Conjuring, and Malignant, proving he can balance spectacle, atmosphere, and character driven storytelling. Translating that skill set to Pandora isn’t a stretch.

That said, Cameron has been clear that even if he eventually steps away from directing, he won’t fully let go of Avatar. During a conversation with Matt Belloni, Cameron explained that his involvement would remain hands-on regardless of who’s in the director’s chair.

"Absolutely not," Cameron said, when asked if he’d ever fully hand off the franchise. "I don't think there'd ever be a version where there's another Avatar movie that I didn't produce closely. But in terms of it taking over my life, you know, that's a threshold issue for me."

Cameron also acknowledged there is one scenario where he’d consider walking away entirely, and that’s if the box office stopped supporting the franchise. He reflected on the long journey of Avatar, from its early conception to its eventual launch.

"Absolutely," Cameron said. "I've been in Avatar land for 20 years. Actually, 30 years, because I wrote it in '95, right, but I wasn't working continuously on it for those first 10 years.

“There was a brief flurry of interest in '95, and then everybody said, 'You're out of your mind,' and I shelved it for 10 years, and then we got serious in 2005. Yeah, absolutely. Sure, if this is where it ends, cool."

Financially, that scenario doesn’t seem likely anytime soon. Avatar: Fire and Ash has already crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office, reinforcing the franchise’s continued dominance. With Avatar 4 currently slated for release on December 21, 2029, Pandora still has plenty of life left in it.

Whether Wan ever gets his shot remains to be seen, but the idea of his visual style colliding with Cameron’s meticulously crafted universe is a pretty cool scenario that makes sense. If Cameron ever decides to step back just enough, Wan sounds ready to dive right in.