Avatar will end if Fire and Ash fails, James Cameron suggests

James Cameron is prepared to end the Avatar series if Fire and Ash underperforms.

The upcoming sci-fi blockbuster will be the next instalment in the 71-year-old director’s smash-hit series, but Cameron has now revealed he is willing to conclude the Avatar franchise if Fire and Ash disappoints critically and commercially.

Speaking on The Town with Matt Belloni podcast, he said: “Sequelitis. People tend to dismiss sequels. Unless it's the third Lord of the Rings film and you want to see what happens to everybody, which in my mind this is.

“This is the culmination of a story arc, but that may not be how the public sees it.”


The Titanic filmmaker added Avatar: Fire and Ash would be a fitting conclusion to the series if it needs to be.

He said: “I've been in Avatar land for 20 years, actually 30 years because I wrote it in '95, but I wasn't working continuously on it for those first 10 years.”

While Cameron is open to letting someone else direct the fourth and fifth Avatar movies, The Terminator filmmaker insisted he would have to be closely involved in the projects if they end up being made.

He explained: “Look, I have choices there. There are levels in which I immerse. I could produce. I don't think there'd ever be another Avatar movie that I didn't produce closely.

“But in terms of it taking over my life? That's a threshold issue for me.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash - which releases on December 19, 2025 - will pick up after the events of 2022’s The Way of Water.

The blockbuster will follow Na'vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and their family as they face a fierce new threat from the fire‑wielding ‘Ash People’ tribe led by Varang (Oona Chaplin) - reigniting conflict on a turbulent Pandora.

As grief and old enemies resurface, alliances with the Metkayina clan will test their strength, faith, and survival.

Cameron previously cast doubt on the fourth Avatar movie after admitting production costs on Fire and Ash had “spiralled”.

He told Variety: “The big swing in all of this is, do we make any money with Avatar 3? I mean, we’ll make some money. But the question is, what kind of a profit margin, if any, is there, and how much of an inducement is that to continue on in this universe?

“Or maybe we wait a while until we figure out how to bring costs down. Because production costs have spiraled over the last few years, especially in VFX.

“Everything’s gone up an enormous amount, and it’s starting to close out the type of films that I like to make.”

The Aliens director added it may be sensible for him to “pause” work on the next Avatar so the production process can be “figured out”.

He continued: “So there’s an argument for taking a pause and figuring that out. There’s an argument for going out and doing some smaller, more personal film in the meantime, while that gets figured out.

“There’s an argument, in wild success, for us just launching and just going straight into [Avatar 4 and Avatar 5] and I figure out a production methodology where I have a bit of a hiatus where I can make another film.

“And there’s another argument that says just go make those two damn movies and figure everything else out when I’m 80.”