The next trip to Pandora could be very long — director James Cameron says that «Avatar 3» will have the longest running time in the series (the previous film «Waterworld», for comparison, had a running time of 3 hours and 12 minutes).
In a conversation with Empire Cameron says that the extended running time of the third film was a necessary step, as the team tried to accommodate ideas that were not included in the second film.
«In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into the first act of the second movie,» Cameron says. «The movie was moving like a speeding train, and we didn’t explore the characters in enough detail. So I said: “Guys, we have to split this up.”…The third movie will actually be a little bit longer than the second one».
The «Avatar» trilogy, which will feature Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang reprising their roles, will return viewers to Pandora and focus on tribes living near the volcanic regions of the planet. Cameron has previously published concept art depicting strange flying creatures and settlement of the fire tribeand also revealed the role of Una Chaplin («Game of Thrones»), who will embody a new antagonist and head of the Ashes clan on the screen.
At the same time, no details about the plot have been provided yet, although Cameron says in an interview that the films are becoming «more and more personal for him».
«These characters are a mixture of us, our childhoods, our role as parents, the mistakes we made and maybe to some extent continue to make as parents,» Cameron says. «I mean, Jake is a jerk. He’s very strict with his kids. And that’s me».
Earlier, the director shared his first reactions to «Avatar 3», which were identified the movie at previews as «the best of the series». The public release is tentatively scheduled for December 19, 2025.
The previous part of the series «Avatar: The Waterway» was released at the end of 2022 (13 years after the first one) and became the sixth film in history to earn more than $2 billion at the global box office (This is exactly how much, according to Cameron himself, was needed to cover the costs of production). First «Avatar» taking into account repeat rentals (but without inflation)ranks first in the list of the richest filmswith revenues of $2.8 billion.
Cameron has previously stated that he plans to make at least two more — installments and is considering shooting the 6th and 7th films, but with the participation of another director.
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