Avatar star says the sci-fi franchise is "unlike Marvel movies" because there are no "outside pressures": "We can take more risks"

Avatar star Sam Worthington says the key difference between his sci-fi franchise and Marvel movies is that James Cameron's Na'vi epics aren't bound by outside pressures, which enables more risk-taking.

"We’re unlike Marvel movies, in the sense of… it feels like an independent movie when we make it," Worthington, who plays human-turned-Na'vi Jake Sully, said in a new interview with The Independent.

"We don’t have outside pressures, or expectations from the press, or the studio, or the community. It doesn’t affect what we do. And that’s why we can take more risks. It’s not like we have to get scenes completed by today or the studio is going to be upset. We just play and create. People don’t understand that."

Of Cameron, he added, "They think it’s this big solid machine where Jim is the didactic director. And he’s not. He’s a painter."

Thanks to the three Avatar movies released so far, Cameron is the first director in history to have four consecutive billion-dollar movies (the fourth movie is 1997's Titanic). Avatar: Fire and Ash, the most recent installment, is the lowest-grossing so far, while still bringing in nearly $1.5 billion at the global box office.

A fourth and fifth movie are planned, but Cameron has yet to confirm whether they're definitely going ahead – even though some of Avatar 4 has already been filmed. "Here’s the thing: the movie industry is depressed right now. Avatar 3 cost a lot of money," Cameron said in January.

"We have to do well in order to continue. We have to do well, and we need to figure out how to make Avatar movies more inexpensively in order to continue." However, last month, the director said it was "very likely" that the fourquel would go ahead.

Avatar 4 is set to hit theaters on December 21, 2029. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best upcoming movies to add to your watchlist.