If fans found Avatar: The Way of Water longer than they anticipated, they'd have to wait and see what franchise creator James Cameron has in store with the threequel, Fire and Ash.
Considering that its artistic worldbuilding in and beyond Pandora demands to be a spectacle, Avatar 3's runtime might just surprise fans.
How Long is Avatar: Fire and Ash Set to Run For in Theaters?
While plot details about Avatar: Fire and Ash are still kept under wraps, James Cameron has recently confirmed the third installment's runtime tease and what to expect about the Sully family's saga as the RDA continues to disturb the ways of Pandora.
Cameron detailed on Variety how Toruk, the "big bird that Jake rides in" the first Avatar movie, comes back. Instead of having it return in the sequel, the director purposely thought of bringing them back on set in the third.
"I got a big scoop here. It didn't exist in Fire and Ash. And I went, 'Oh, he's got to go get the bird.' Come on! I was saving it for a later film. I was like, 'Get the Toruk.'" Cameron said, "There's something in Jake's destiny that requires it, right?"
Essentially, Cameron rewrote the scene and "shot two or three scenes around that concept" to get that "stuck", which led to a potentially longer runtime than The Way of Water: "We're at three hours, big surprise!"
"But it works beautifully," Cameron added, "and the actors were super excited about that idea. It's like, oh, okay, that feels right, you know?"
What Makes Avatar 3 Different from the Original and the Sequel?
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To compare, Avatar 2 had a total runtime of 3 hours and 12 minutes, which ties closely to the 2-hour, 42-minute runtime of the first.
Considering that Fire and Ash explores a different side of Pandora and another tribe, there's a chance three hours wouldn't be enough to cover it all.
Thus, fans can expect Cameron to showcase more than the return of Jake's gigantic bird, the Fire and Ash tribe, and the highly anticipated battle against the RDA. Could the new tribe be friends or foes?
Meanwhile, fans can wait for Avatar: Fire and Ash to premiere on the big screens on December 19.
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