There’s a plan in the back of Cameron’s head in the event the sequels don’t move forward.

If Avatar 4 and 5 don’t happen, James Cameron vows to ‘hold a press conference’ to reveal plot details

There's a plan in the back of Cameron's head in the event the sequels don't move forward.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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December 26, 2025 1:00 p.m. ET

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Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'. Credit:

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Since the kickoff to the *Avatar: Fire and Ash* press tour, writer-director James Cameron surprisingly pumped the brakes on sequel talk, even though Disney already set release dates for the next two installments.

*Avatar 4*, a small portion of which Cameron and some of the key cast already shot during production of 2 and 3, is currently on the calendar four years from now in 2029. *Avatar 5* is then planned for 2031.

"I don't know if the saga goes beyond this point. I hope it does," Cameron told ** on the matter earlier in December. "But, you know, we prove that business case every time we go out."

If, it turns out, the sequels don't move ahead after all — *Fire and Ash* so far made $483.3 million globally just one week out — the three-time Oscar winner has a plan in place.

James Cameron on set of 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' with Trinity Bliss, Britain Dalton, Jack Champion, and Sigourney Weaver.

Mark Fellman/20th Century Studios

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"Here's what it is," he says. "If we don't get to make 4 and 5, for whatever reason, I'll hold a press conference and I'll tell you what we were gonna do. How's that?"

Cameron's other fantasy is to novelize the *Avatar* movies and to write them himself, noting, "There's so much culture and backstory and lateral detail in these characters that's been worked out. I'd love to do something that's at that level of granular detail."

However, he acknowledges, "There's no business model for it anymore. People aren't reading."

The filmmaker is referring to a new study, conducted by researchers at the University of Florida and University College London, that stated the number of Americans who read for pleasure dropped 40 percent.

"But anyway, it might be good to have the canonical record of what it was all supposed to be," Cameron adds.

Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and Jake (Sam Worthington) in 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'.

Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

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*Avatar: Fire and Ash* continues the story of the Sully family, led by Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña). After the devastating events of the previous film, 2022's *Avatar: The Way of Water*, which saw their eldest son dead, they now face the Ash People, a clan of volcanic Na'vi who are led by the lethal Varang (Oona Chaplin).

The film also features Sigourney Weaver as Kiri, Britain Dalton as Lo'ak, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuk, and Jack Champion as Spider, all members of Team Sully. Stephen Lang returned as Quaritch alongside Kate Winslet as Ronal, Cliff Curtis as Tonowari, Bailey Bass as Tsireya, and more.

*Avatar: Fire and Ash* is currently playing in theaters.**

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