Producer Drops Major Avatar 4 And 5 Update Fans Have Been Waiting For

Just when you thought James Cameron’s Pandora obsession couldn’t go any deeper, we’ve got some real movement on the next round of Avatar sequels — yes, numbers 4 and 5. If you wondered when or if these were actually going to happen, you’re definitely not alone. Here’s the latest on what’s actually up with those ever-growing blue-people epics.

So, Is Avatar 4 Actually a Thing?

Avatar: Fire and Ash (that’s the third one, just in case you lost track) hit theaters last December. Reviews were mostly thumbs up, if you didn’t mind the déjà vu — a lot of folks noticed it was the same basic storyline wearing different 3D glasses. But hey, the box office audience clearly didn’t mind: $1.4 billion later, it’s another giant franchise win.

Big numbers also probably help when you want to win over Oscar voters (it nabbed a nomination for Best Visual Effects), and Fire and Ash scored several other awards nods too.

Producer Spills on the Sequels’ Status

Rae Sanchini, one of Cameron’s right-hand producers for all things Avatar, just gave an unusually direct update: both parts 4 and 5 are on the runway, and it turns out they’ll have to ‘get started on those pretty soon’ because these movies need a ton of pre-production.

Her words:

"It's a very long lead time process. So we're going to have to get started on those pretty soon."

Translation: don’t expect them this side of retirement, but yes — work should begin earlier than you’d think, just because of how massive these projects are.

James Cameron: ‘Very Likely’ More Avatar, With Changes

If you’re wondering how locked-in any of this really is, even Cameron isn’t giving 100% ironclad guarantees. Just a few weeks ago, he told the press at the Saturn Awards that more movies were ‘very likely’ but... decisions aren’t totally final. Typical Cameron: optimistic, but hedging his bets.

On a more interesting note, he said the team is actually listening to the reactions to the last few films (imagine that, a Cameron recalibration) and will fold some of those lessons into the sequels. Specifically, he threw out that Oona Chaplin’s character Varang will be a bigger presence going forward, sort of mirroring how the whale-like Payakan was suddenly a fan favorite thanks to The Way of Water.

That’s a pretty clear sign they’re at least considering what actually plays with audiences — not always a given when you have a five-film plan mapped since 2009 and a mountain of cash.

Here’s the Sequels’ Timeline (At Least For Now):

• Avatar 4 — December 21, 2029: Production already partly started. Cameron revealed they filmed an early chunk ahead of time, since the story has a ‘big time jump’ and he wanted the younger characters to look the right age. There’s a scene where the characters disappear for six years. They shot up to the time jump... the rest is waiting for after Fire and Ash’s release.
• Avatar 5 — December 19, 2031: All we really know is that Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) finally leaves Pandora for Jake Sully’s home planet — yes, Earth. This came from late producer Jon Landau, who spilled a few early plot beans back in 2022.

What’s It All Mean?

In short, even if Cameron and company are keeping some cards close to their chest, the wheels are turning on not just one but two Avatar sequels. They’re ambitious, the timelines are long (seriously long), and the production is about as complicated as you’d expect for a series that’s basically an industrial tech demo with blue faces.

Whether the formula changes is anyone’s guess — but for now, it’s a safe bet that if you’re still interested, you’ve got two more massive trips to Pandora in your future. Mark your calendar... and probably your next one after that.