James Cameron has responded to claims that Avatar didn't have a cultural impact. The director says that it's too soon in the franchise's history to make an accurate judgment on its longevity compared to a series like the MCU.
"There's skepticism in the marketplace around, 'Oh, did it ever make any real cultural impact?'" Cameron said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "'Can anybody even remember the characters' names?'"
He continued: "When you have extraordinary success, you come back within the next three years... That's just how the industry works. You come back to the well, and you build that cultural impact over time. Marvel had maybe 26 movies to build out a universe, with the characters cross-pollinating. So it's an irrelevant argument. We'll see what happens after this film."
Regardless of its cultural impact, Avatar certainly made a financial splash, becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time after its release in 2009. And while there may not be 26 Avatar movies on the horizon, Cameron has plans for plenty more trips to Pandora. There are currently another three movies planned after the upcoming sequel Avatar: The Way of Water, but the filmmaker also told THR that he has ideas for the sixth and seventh installments in the franchise.
However, whether these plans come to fruition is dependent on the financial success of Avatar 2, which needs to become the third or fourth highest-grossing movie of all time just to break even.
Avatar: The Way of Water hits the big screen on December 16. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of the most exciting upcoming movies on the way to theaters this winter and beyond.
