James Cameron is about to usher in a completely new era for the Avatar franchise with the series’ next film. With three Avatar movies out, the series has already cemented itself as one of the biggest and most profitable franchises in movie history. Every installment has made well over $1 billion at the box office, the only film franchise in history to do so, with Avatar: Fire and Ash being the lowest earner at a whopping $1.4 billion worldwide.
A huge part of the Avatar franchise’s success has been a couple of parts of James Cameron’s formula. Every Avatar movie is sold as a massive visual marvel, a true blockbuster. The scale of Avatar is one of its main selling points, from the massive and fully-realized world of Pandora to the beautiful motion capture for the Na’vi and more. The entire franchise feels epic, and that has spurred it to massive profits.
Now, however, Avatar 4 is officially changing the franchise and ushering in a new era. Avatar 4 is tentatively set to premiere on December 21, 2029, a full four years after Fire and Ash in 2025. While Cameron hasn’t revealed many story details about Avatar 4, some of his comments have indicated that big changes are coming. The Avatar franchise as a whole could be entering uncharted territory.
Avatar 4 Will Be The Beginning Of A Truly New Story Beyond Jake Sully
James Cameron and the other creators of the franchise have already made it clear through a few comments that Avatar 4 is going to tell a new story that isn’t as centered around Jake Sully and his family. In one interview, Sigourney Weaver revealed that Kiri will be the narrator of Avatar 4, the first time someone not related to Sully will be taking on that central role. Cameron himself also confirmed that the Sully family’s story arc ended in Fire and Ash, and that Avatar 4 will be focusing on a “whole new arc,” (via The Playlist).
The first three Avatar films were all about Sully and his family, so switching the series’ focus onto other Na’vi characters is a major change for the franchise. The original Avatar was all about Sully leaving his human life behind to live on Pandora, while The Way of Water and Fire and Ash both focused on Sully fighting to protect his Na’vi family from the attempted human invasions.
The Sully family has always been the heart and soul of Avatar‘s story, so there’s no telling how the franchise could change now that the focus is shifting onto new characters going forward. Avatar 4 likely won’t have nearly as much family drama as either The Way of Water or Fire and Ash, and the movie won’t have as strong a connection to the human elements of the franchise by focusing on Kiri. Avatar 4‘s story could feel very different from its predecessors.
Avatar 4 Could Also Drastically Change The Franchise’s Formula
Arguably an even bigger change teased for Avatar 4 would reshape the entire franchise’s formula. As previously mentioned, Avatar has strived by marketing itself as a major blockbuster with a massive budget, groundbreaking visual effects, and a huge world. That being said, James Cameron has said that he and Disney are in talks to make Avatar 4 both shorter in runtime and cheaper to produce (via Variety).
Avatar 4 & Avatar 5’s Fate Seemingly Confirmed After Fire & Ash Finishes $1.4B Box Office Run
Avatar 4 and Avatar 5’s fates have seemingly been confirmed by Disney after Fire & Ash finishes its $1.486 billion run at the box office.
The first three Avatar films all had massive budgets, with the original coming in at $237 million and both sequels costing $400 million. They were also massively long films, with Avatar coming in at over two hours and 40 minutes, with both sequels exceeding three hours. These numbers helped justify the franchise as a true blockbuster epic, though they also cut into the movies’ profits. While Fire and Ash made $1.4 billion, it only saw approximately $400 million in profit after subtracting its budget, marketing costs, and movie theaters’ cut of ticket sales.
If Avatar 4 does end up being cheaper and shorter than its predecessors, it would be another major change from the franchise’s status quo. The Way of Water and Fire and Ash were massive in their own right, and they could have been one even larger movie, given Cameron originally planned them as part of the same film. Cameron is clearly taking a new approach to Avatar 4, and only time will tell if it pays off.
- Release Date
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December 19, 2029
- Producers
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Jon Landau