James Cameron had the perfect response to studio backlash against another Avatar movie

Even in today’s tough market, James Cameron’s “Avatar” series has proven its box office prowess beyond reasonable doubt. After “Avatar: The Way of Water” became Cameron’s third $2 billion film at the global box office (alongside “Titanic” and, of course, the first “Avatar”), one would expect studio executives to throw money at him to make as many sequels as humanly possible. And yet.

In an interview with Andrew J. Salazar of Discussing Film, Cameron spoke about the moment he decided to split the planned second “Avatar” film into two separate films, creating a fifth “Avatar” film. He also revealed that although he had spoken to his collaborators before informing the studio and reassured them that a fifth film would not be a problem, it turned out that the studio was not really keen on the idea. However, Cameron said he had a perfect response to executives who were hesitant to commit to an additional “Avatar” movie:

“My counterargument was, ‘Wait a minute. What part of you having another chance to win $2 billion is at issue here?'”

With “Avatar” and “The Way of Water” surpassing the $2 billion mark and beyond, James Cameron certainly has the box office numbers to show for it. Still, when you remember the fact that all four “Avatar” sequels were announced at the same time in 2016 (while “Avatar 5” was still optimistically planned for 2023), it makes sense that Fox higher-ups before the Disney sale were somewhat concerned when they learned that Cameron had gone from three to four sequels.

The thing is, the “Avatar” movies aren’t exactly cheap to make. The upcoming “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is one of the most expensive films of all time, with a production budget that could exceed $400 million. So when Cameron hatched his plan for an additional Fox sequel, the amount of money on the table probably would have been enough to make just about anyone – except Cameron, obviously – a little nervous.

“Fire and Ash” will show how the appeal of the “Avatar” franchise endures, but given his track record, betting against Cameron might be a fool’s errand. Just ask all those Fox execs who didn’t want a fifth “Avatar” back in the day.

“Avatar: Fire and Ash” hits theaters on December 19, 2025.