After spending more than two decades building the world of Pandora, Oscar winning filmmaker James Cameron says he is finally ready to look beyond the Avatar franchise and explore new creative territory.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published this week, Cameron admitted he no longer wants to devote years at a time exclusively to the blockbuster series that has dominated his career since the original Avatar debuted in 2009.
“I’ve got other stories to tell, and I’ve got other stories to tell within Avatar. What won’t happen is, I won’t go down the rabbit hole of exclusively making only Avatar for multiple years,” said Cameron.
The filmmaker added that while he isn’t planning to retire from directing, his approach to future projects will likely change.
“I’m going to figure out another way that involves more collaboration. I’m not saying I’m going to step away as a director, but I’m going to pull back from being as hands on with every tiny aspect of the process,” Cameron said.
Despite his desire to branch out, Cameron stressed that Avatar is far from over. However, he acknowledged that the franchise’s future could depend on audience response.
“This can be the last one. There’s only one unanswered question in the story. We may find that the release of Avatar 3 proves how diminished the cinematic experience is these days, or we may find it proves the case that it’s as strong as it ever was, but only for certain types of films. It’s a coin toss right now,” he said.
Cameron’s remarks have already sparked discussion among fans, with many supporting the idea of the filmmaker stepping away from Pandora for a while before returning to the franchise.
One fan wrote, “I’ve been arguing for Cameron to take a break and work on something that revitalises him for a while. Avatar is obviously a passion project and hugely important to him since young adulthood, but artists often need to flex other muscles after a long period on one project. He’ll come back refreshed and that will show on screen.”
Another fan agreed, writing, “Honestly, having worked on the last two Avatar films, I’d hope he would just give the following films to someone else and work on some new IPs. He has a few more films left in him I’m sure. He’s a great director and it sounds like he has more ideas, so I’d say he should go for it. Avatar will take up at least another five more years of his time.”
For now, Pandora isn’t going anywhere, but Cameron has made it clear there are more stories he wants to tell.
Source: Khaleej Times