Director James Cameron has revealed the studio’s surprising (and sweary) reaction to one of his planned Avatar sequels. Cameron said in an interview with Collider that the notes on his sequels – of which there are four planned, culminating in 2028’s Avatar 5 – have lessened over the years.
"I can’t tell you the details, but all I can say is that when I turned in the script for [Avatar: The Way of Water], the studio gave me three pages of notes, Cameron explained. "And when I turned in the script for [Avatar 3], they gave me a page of notes, so I was getting better. When I turned in the script for [Avatar 4], the studio executive, creative executive over the films wrote me an email that said, 'Holy fuck.'"
He continued, "And I said, ‘Well, where are the notes?’ And she said, ‘Those are the notes.’ Because it kind of goes nuts in a good way, right?"
Avatar 4, if you’re keeping track, is set for release on December 18, 2026. Cameron filmed Avatars 2 and 3 simultaneously, but principal photography on the fourquel only began earlier this year.
Cameron has also recently explained how he butted heads with an executive during production of the first Avatar – which became the highest-grossing movie of all time.
"And I told him to get the fuck out of my office. And that’s where it was left." Cameron told GQ of the incident, which escalated into a row over the movie’s runtime.
Avatar: The Way of Water is set for release on December 16. For a taste of what to expect, here are the first reactions from the Avatar sequel’s world premiere.