20th Century Fox’s presentation at CinemaCon kicked off with Vanilla Ice singing “Ice Ice Baby” with an Ice Age twist and finished up with James Cameron providing Avatar updates. Cameron took the Coliseum stage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and revealed the upcoming Avatar film sequels have been expanded from three to four.
Avatar 2 will arrive at Christmas 2018 followed by Avatar 3 Christmas of 2020, Avatar 4 Christmas of 2022, and Avatar 5 Christmas of 2023. Cameron explained to the audience of National Association of Theatre Owners members that Fox has agreed with his decision that there’s too much story to explore to get it done in three sequels. Cameron’s working with four top screenwriters in parallel with top artists and designers to expand the world of Avatar moving forward.
“The art on the walls is in pure imagination far beyond the first film,” said Cameron. The Avatar sequels are, according to the award-winning filmmaker, a true epic saga that will expand the complex world established in the first film. The four sequels are a “truly massive cinematic project” and each will be a stand-alone film but “together will form a complete saga.”
Cameron also threw his support behind theater owners, saying films should initially be screened in theaters and not on iPhones, iPads, or other formats. “Our job as filmmakers is to keep making films that play best on the big screen,” said Cameron.
