Avatar fans, I have some good news for you. James Cameron recently spoke to Empire and gave an update about the third out of five – yes five – planned movies about the mythical land of Pandora. According to Cameron, Avatar: Fire and Ash, which hits theaters on December 19, is not just a continuation of where we left off in Avatar: The Way of Water. Parts of the movie’s plot were cut out of the Way of Water script and incorporated into Fire and Ash instead. Because, and I’ll try to say this with a straight face, they didn’t want TWoW to be too long or have too much stuff crammed into its first act. Speaking of, James also revealed that the third movie is actually longer than the second one, which was a whopping 3:12 long. It’s also apparently an emotional knockout.
James Cameron is beginning to tease Avatar fans about the lengthy — and emotional — Avatar: Fire and Ash. In multiple new pieces published by Empire in recent days, filmmaker Cameron, 70, noted that the third Avatar installment “will actually be a little bit longer than movie 2,” which already ran for three hours and 12 minutes.
On top of the movie’s lengthy runtime, Cameron also said that his wife Suzy Amis Cameron watched “the whole thing from end to end” for the first time on Dec. 22 and walked away feeling significantly emotionally moved.
“She bawled for four hours,” he said of Suzy’s reaction to the movie. “She kept trying to get her s— back together so she could tell me specific reactions, and then she’d just tear up and start crying again. Finally, I’m like, ‘Honey, I’ve got to go to bed. Sorry, we’ll talk about it some other time.’ ”
Cameron and Suzy first met on the set of his 1997 movie Titanic, which Suzy appeared in as an actor playing the role of Lizzy Calvert. Cameron was in a relationship with Linda Hamilton at the time; they married in 1997 and filed for divorce in 1999, and Cameron and Suzy married shortly afterward in 2000. The pair share three children: Claire, Quinn and Elizabeth.
“She’s a pretty good bellwether,” Cameron added of Suzy’s film taste. “She called the ball on Titanic and Avatar and Avatar 2. So I trust her heart on it.”
Cameron famously has details worked out for Avatar 4 and Avatar 5, which he told Empire he has been working on with screenwriters Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. Some of Fire and Ash’s story was originally planned for inclusion in 2022’s The Way of Water, Cameron said.
“In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2,” he said. “The [film] was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character. So I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to split it.’ ”
Avatar: Fire and Ash will release in theaters Dec. 19. The franchise’s fourth installment is currently scheduled for release in December 2029, while Avatar 5 is currently expected to release in December 2031.
I know that filmmakers like Cameron put their heart and soul into these epic-length movies, but I will die on the hill that no movie needs to be more than two-hours long. I will only grant exceptions for the Lord of the Rings movies, but even I can’t watch any of the director’s cuts in one sitting. If you can’t get through it within a reasonable time in which nature calls, then add an intermission or make a director’s cut for at-home viewing. I know I sound like a curmudgeon, but I was radicalized after holding a restroom break in for over an hour while watching Avengers: Civil War and I’ve never looked back.
That said, I have absolutely no doubt that Avatar: Fire and Ash will be a huge hit, win a bunch of awards for its stunning visuals, and that fans of the series will love it. I hope Cameron’s being hyperbolic about the four-hour cry fest, though. I’ll probably end up seeing Fire and Ash because Mr. Rosie is a big fan of the franchise, but I don’t know if I can handle four hours of crying in a theater. And trust me, I’m a crier, lol. It does not take much to get me in my feels while watching TV or movies.
Photos credit: Lumeimages/ImageBROKER/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram
I’d cry too if I had to sit for 3 hours straight watching a movie.
Honestly that was my reaction. Tell me the story in under two hours or change the story.
What I’ve always found interesting about cameron is that his first love is the sea, not film. I’m not his audience, but might see this depending on the options.
I don’t know what it is either – I would say i’m too old – I don’t think that’s it since I’ve felt this way for decades – but my #1 complaint about movies is that they are too long. Even a movie that’s 2 and a half hours can probably stand to lose 15 or 20 minutes.
And besides LOTR and yes, Titanic – nothing needs to be over 3 hours. For me its not just that I’m not going to watch it – I might watch it once (I saw Avatar and I liked it, but not well enough to sit through it again and I had no interest in TWOW) but I’m probably not going to watch it again. Like I remember thinking the Departed was an incredible movie, but I’ve never watched it again to see if that still holds up on a second viewing.
I feel like we’re in an era of prestige TV miniseries. If you want to take 4, 5, 6 hours to tell a story – go to Apple or Netflix or Prime and get a series.
Hard agree, it’s rare that I leave the cinema and don’t think you could have cut up to 30 minutes and had likely a better film from an audience perspective.
Also yes that mini-series are the perfect format for telling a longer story. Stop trying to squeeze so much into films and/or have overly long and unnecessarily action sequences.
“We had too many great ideas…for movie 2” LOL WHAT?! I thought The Way of Water was awful, a chore to watch. My biggest complaint was that it was redundant, they kept repeating the same plot points over and over
I’m a sympathetic cryer too, but what kind of plot would possibly make somebody bawl for four hours? Are they drowning puppies the whole time? If I had wanted to watch this before, I wouldn’t want to watch it now.
Even longer? Got really bored during the 1st and am not planning on seeing the sequals
Did anyone ask for this? I lost hours of my life watching the first one in the theater. Hours I still regret sacrificing for… that. It’s not my thing or genre. I get how it might be for some. I’ll watch Ferngully and Pocahontas back to back w/ my daughter and call it a day.
I love the Avatar movies. I don’t think the plot is particularly creative but I’ve really enjoyed the worldbuilding, especially with the last one. Four hours is a bit much for one sitting — much easier to do when watching from home because you can take an intermission! I haven’t seen the Brutalist yet but I know it’s brutally long (TEEHEHEHE, see what I did there) although it has an intermission … I think that was a pretty clever idea! That’s probably something they should have considered with Fire and Ash.
If movies are going to be this long again there needs to be an intermission. (and refills on pop/popcorn should be free!) At least at home I can break a movie up into multiple nights if need be. (i.e the Marvel movies now)
I have an irrational love for these movies that I can’t really explain or defend. The first one just absolutely captured me. I saw it 5 times in the theater, and I literally (I’m not joking) teared up in the preview for the second one. My husband was trying not to laugh at me. He was only somewhat successful. To answer InVain’s comment above… I quietIy raise my hand. Lol I recognize I’m in the (vast) minority on this, but I’m here for however many hours James Cameron wants to throw at me.
I loved the first Avatar so much I actually went to see it 27 times. I still have the ticket stubs. I watched #2 and did not like it at all. I felt like Jake was a bad father and that made me sad. I was also put off by Natiri called him “MaJake” instead of “jake”. Never watched it again and not sure I want to spend the necessary time to watch #3.
I’ve hit franchise burnout from “Avatar” after the last loooooong outing. Nothing original to see here, folks. Move along.