James Cameron Aims to Cut Avatar 4 and 5 Cost and Time

Filmmaker James Cameron said he is working on an approach to produce the next two Avatar films faster and at substantially lower cost, even as plans for the sequels remain uncertain. Speaking on the Empire Film Podcast while promoting his Billie Eilish concert documentary, Cameron said Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 are still “floating out there,” and that he is entering a new phase of writing and development aimed at changing how the movies are made.

Cameron’s goal, he said, is to complete the next two installments in half the time and for two-thirds of the cost of prior productions. He linked the need for a new approach to the scale and expense of Pandora-style filmmaking, describing the behind-the-scenes process as both “hideously expensive” and time-consuming. He added that it would likely take about a year to determine how to achieve those targets using new technologies.

The director also suggested his workload would continue even if production on the next Avatar films does not move forward immediately. He said he would be doing writing and working on other projects in the meantime, while continuing to develop Avatar 4 and 5.

Cameron has previously indicated that if the franchise’s...