Being great takes a toll. When James Cameron isn't plunging into the oceanic depths for his personal edification, he's known to direct a blockbuster movie or two. Even though it was unseated by Avengers: Endgame for a little bit, James Cameron's Avatar is still the highest-grossing film of all time. As a result, rumors of Avatar becoming a potential franchise have sprung up since the film was still in its first theatrical release.
A few months ago, a teaser trailer from Avatar: The Way of Water dropped and reignited the excitement for Cameron's fantasy franchise. Well, if you're like me and are only interested in the Avatar IP due to Cameron's involvement, enjoy him while you can. It's being reported that after Avatar 3, Cameron might be passing the director's chair to someone else. I guess Cameron isn't trying to follow in George Lucas' footsteps of staying attached to your marquee franchise for too long.
Speaking to Empire in the upcoming world-exclusive Avatar: The Way Of Water issue, the legendary filmmaker opened up about his plans for the later movies in the series – including the possibility that he may appoint someone else to bring the saga to its conclusion. "The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming," Cameron admits. "I've got some other things I'm developing as well that are exciting. I think eventually over time – I don't know if that's after three or after four – I'll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I'm also interested in. Or maybe not. I don't know." Previously, Cameron handed across Alita: Battle Angel – a project he long planned to adapt for the screen – to director Robert Rodriguez, while remaining on board as executive producer and co-writer.
