James Cameron wanted to avoid 'Stranger Things effect' on Avatar sequels

James Cameron shot the 'Avatar' sequels together to avoid "the 'Stranger Things' effect".

The 68-year-old filmmaker cast Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuk when she was around seven years old and she is now 13, while 18-year-old Jack Champion was 12 and "growing like a weed" when he was brought in to play Spider, so he decided to film new movie 'The Way of Water' at the same time as the third installment and part of the fourth in order to avoid his young co-stars growing rapidly over the course of a more spaced-out filming schedule and making what plays out on screen look less realistic.

He told Entertainment Weekly magazine: "Otherwise, you get — and I love 'Stranger Things' — but you get the 'Stranger Things' effect where they're supposed to still be in high school [but] they look like they're 27.

"You know, I love the show. It's okay, we'll suspend disbelief. We like the characters, but, you know."

Although shooting three films at once was a daunting prospect, Zoe Saldana - who reprises her role as Neytiri alongside Sam Worthington as Jake Sully - insisted she was never "uncomfortable" with the plans and credited the director for his openness for things running smoothly.

He said: "We did read-throughs, we discussed extensively where we were, we defined those beats that distinguished two from three.

"So from where I was standing, I never felt that it was uncomfortable or anything, but that just has to do with the amount of time that we took in preparation for this.

"Jim makes you a part of the whole process and hears you. Every need that you have, he takes great attention to that detail and tries to the best of his ability to accommodate and incorporate your input."