James Cameron says the planned Avatar sequels will happen after Way of Water's massive success

James Cameron has addressed if those Avatar sequels will happen – and he's very confident the franchise will continue following The Way of Water's massive box office success. The director plans for five Avatar films in total, with the final movie expected in 2028. 

"It looks like just with the momentum that the film has now that will easily pass our break even in the next few days, so it looks like I can't wiggle out of this, I'm gonna have to do these other sequels," Cameron revealed on Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? (H/T The Hollywood Reporter). 

"I know what I'm going to be doing the next six or seven years," he continued. "The point is we're going to be okay. I'm sure that we'll have a discussion soon with the top folks at Disney about the game plan going forward for Avatar 3, which is already in the can – we've already captured and photographed the whole film so we're in extended post-production to do all that CG magic. And then Avatar 4 and 5 are both written. We even have some of 4 in the can. We've begun a franchise at this point. We've begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films."

The Way of Water is now the seventh highest-grossing movie of all time and has beaten Top Gun: Maverick to become 2022's biggest movie  – less than one month after release. It's no surprise that the franchise will be moving full steam ahead, then. 

If you're up to speed on Avatar 2, check out our spoilery guide to the Way of Water ending explained. You can also fill out your watchlist with our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates.