James Cameron confirms delays as Avatar 3 enters hectic post-production

James Cameron sat down with 1News correspondent John Campbell to discuss life and work in New Zealand. Photo / Tareq Branney

James Cameron, one of the world’s most successful film directors of all time, described the state of post-production work on Avatar 3 as “very hectic” as he sat down with 1News correspondent John Campbell to discuss life and work in New Zealand.

Cameron spent his time with Campbell detailing his love for Wellington and why he chose to establish the country as his production hub, announcing that he will become a New Zealand citizen in 2024 and revealing his plan to remain and create the rest of his movies here “indefinitely”.

When Campbell asked about progress on the third Avatar movie, Cameron confirmed that they were suffering from delays and were expected to release the sequel later than originally anticipated.

“We’re into a very hectic two years of post-production right now,” he said during the interview at the Screen Production and Development Association (Spada) Conference in Wellington. “So it will be Christmas of 2025.”

Back in June, Disney announced major changes to its release calendar that saw Cameron’s three upcoming Avatar sequels pushed back once again. The studio acquired the franchise after merging with 21st Century Fox in 2019 and had originally planned to release the future Avatar sequels every two years after the second, Avatar: The Way of Water, with the third scheduled for cinematic release in 2024.

However, under Disney’s updated release calendar, the premieres for future sequels have been revised, which has dragged the end of the franchise into 2031. Now, Avatar 3 is scheduled for release on December 19, 2025; Avatar 4 on December 21, 2029; and Avatar 5 on December 19, 2031. If this timeline is maintained, the final Avatar movie will open 22 years after the original was released in 2009 to critical acclaim.

Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Jake (Sam Worthington) in the original Avatar.

Zoe Saldaña, one of the franchise’s lead stars, made a humorous Instagram post in response to the news: “Great! I’m gonna be 53 when the last Avatar comes out,” Saldaña jokingly exclaimed along with a shocked face emoji. “I was 27 when I shot the very first Avatar.” Sam Worthington, Saldaña’s co-star who plays Jake Sully in the films, will be 55 by the time Avatar 5 is released, while Cameron will be 77.

Avatar: The Way of Water was released in December last year, 13 years after the original graced screens and broke records worldwide to become the highest-grossing film of all time, accumulating over US$2.9 billion ($4.71 billion). Although some were skeptical that The Way of Water would fall short of the success of its predecessor, the sequel was a commercial hit, generating over US$2.3 billion ($3.73b) and becoming the third-highest-grossing film ever in the process.

Cameron has revealed that Avatar 3 will move in a different direction to introduce a hostile race of Na’vi as the future antagonists of the franchise. Jon Landau, producer for the franchise, told Empire magazine that this group is “an aggressive, volcanic race” of Na’vi called the Ash People whose leader, Varang, will be played by Oona Chaplin, Game of Thrones star and Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter.

Cameron noted at the Spada Conference that he plans to shoot and produce all future projects, including the rest of the Avatar franchise, in New Zealand. “I plan on making all my films here indefinitely.”

“It brings so much into the economy here, it brings so much prestige to the country culturally, and it’s an opportunity for so many young people coming up to think of themselves as empowered on the world stage. We can do it here,” Cameron explained in reference to settling in New Zealand and establishing a film base here.