James Cameron says Avatar: Fire and Ash will take viewers to "places they won’t expect"

Avatar: Fire and Ash is grandly awaited after the phenomenal success of Avatar: the Way of the Water and the initial success of Avatar, which first dazzled viewers with its immensely dynamic world of Pandora. With both of his previous movies proving to be some of the most visually stunning films ever made, there are high expectations for the third one, and the veteran director promises that it will live up to the wait.

In a recent interview with Empire, James Cameron gave some big updates on Avarar: Fire and Ash, claiming that it will take audiences to "places they won’t expect, but that will feel earned." Cameron also emphasized that the developments would not only be in visual splendor but also in narrative complexity.

He told Empire:

"Yeah, we’ve got some really clever action set-pieces...You can get your blood up in this movie. But what excites me as an artist who recently turned 70 and has kind of done all that stuff is not only the opportunity to get to do it again, but to get to a level of character and intrigue you haven’t seen before in an Avatar movie."

He also amply elaborated on the narrative changes they hope to achieve in the third film of the franchise.

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"You’ve got to break the mould every fricking time"- James Cameron on Avatar: Fire and Ash

There is hardly anything to complain about the visuals and action set pieces of both Avatar and Avatar: the Way of the Water, with some criticism aimed at the simple narrative that is riddled with some cliches. But Avatar: Fire and Ash will aim to fix precisely this.

With the first two movies introducing and establishing the vast world of Pandora, the third one will raise the stakes of the narrative, with newer elements that will hopefully make the third film stand out.

Speaking about this, James Cameron told Empire:

"We’re just starting to riff on it and twist it and turn it,...It’s a tricky thing. We could be getting high on our own supply here, and everybody who looks at it goes, ‘Fuck, that’s not what I signed up for.’ But if you’re not making brave choices, you’re wasting everybody’s time and money. That alone is not sufficient to create success, but it’s necessary."

He further added:

"You’ve got to break the mould every fricking time."

Cameron also spoke about the stage Avatar: Fire and Ash is in right now, saying "It’s in strong shape." He further expanded:

"We’ve doubled the number of shots finished at this stage of the game than we had on movie two [and] the films are about equal length. So that puts us well ahead of the curve, which is something I’ve never, frankly, experienced before."

So not only is the movie moving ahead fast, but it will also perhaps change the direction of the franchise with a more complex narrative, better characters, and perhaps some big twists that will break away completely from the previous movies.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is set to be released on December 19, 2025. There will be two more movies after this one, which is both in different stages of production right now.

More details about Avatar: Fire and Ash will be available soon. Stay tuned for updates.