.jpg?width=660){kind=avatar}
Avatar: The Way of Water took 13 years to get here, but fans can rest assured that the franchise creator, James Cameron, isn't going anywhere.
As his 71st birthday approaches on August 16, the visionary helmer explained his commitment to seeing the entire saga through.
Will James Cameron Really Be Directing Avatar 4 and 5 Himself?
In a new interview with Empire Magazine, James Cameron declared he's "good to go" when asked if he plans on directing the next Pandora adventures, Avatar 4 and 5. Ahead of his 71st birthday in August, the Oscar winner sets the record straight on how he plans to expand the franchise himself.
"I mean, there's no reason not to," Cameron said, "I'm healthy, I'm good to go. I'm not going to rule it out. I mean, I've got to make it in a vigorous way, to handle the kind of volume and energy of the work for another six or seven years. You know what I mean?"
.jpg?width=700&quality=10&blur=40){kind=avatar}
While Cameron remains confident of his commitment to the sci-fi franchise, he expressed his hopes of managing to wing it anyway, "I might not be able to do that... [but] if I can, I'll just do it."
Cameron initially cast doubt on his future in continuing Avatar past 2009, and told the news outlet that helming it would be "all-consuming" and might end up "passing the baton" to another director starting with Avatar 4. However, that no longer seems to be the case.
Even though he passed the Alita: Battle Angel sequel's torch to Robert Rodriguez, who "honored what he had written", Cameron plans on keeping the director's chair with Avatar: Fire and Ash and so on.
What's Cameron's Full Plan on the Avatar Saga?
In February last year, the Avatar franchise blew up from five movies to seven, which Cameron previously teased on PEOPLE was already in development.
"We've fully written through movie five, and I've got ideas for six and seven, although I'll probably be handing the baton at that point," Cameron said, "I mean, morality catches up. But I mean, we're enjoying what we're doing. We're loving it. We get to work with great people."
It remains to be seen how six and seven will play out, but the creator's idea for the fourth and fifth involves leaving Pandora to arrive on Earth, which potentially exposes the Na'vi to humans like Jake Sully.
As for fans criticizing Cameron's choice in sticking with the Avatar franchise in his career, Cameron had one thing to say:
Cameron referenced George Lucas' Star Wars and Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek franchises on why he chooses to expand Pandora and the Na'vi tribes, "Because when you connect with people, why would you squander that? Why would you start over with something else that might not connect?"
For now, fans can expect Avatar: Fire and Ash to premiere on the big screens on December 19.
Keep it locked on Epicstream.com, the best source for film, TV, and celebrity coverage!