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.
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