Avatar director James Cameron has stated that his Avatar film series may wrap up with three movies – rather than the five he hopes to create.
Back in 2009, film director James Cameron shook up the world of cinema with a new sci-fi epic. Avatar took movie audiences to the world of Pandora, a lush alien world caught up in an interplanetary conflict. The film’s visuals and use of 3D helped it to become one of the world’s most commercially successful movies, and now the first sequel – Avatar: The Way of Water – is finally landing in cinemas this December.
Avatar’s sequels have been subject to much speculation over the last few years, with plans for four sequels to the original. But it remains to be seen just how many we end up getting – as Cameron has said, in an interview with Total Film, that the third may be the last.
"The market could be telling us we’re done in three months, or we might be semi-done, meaning: ‘OK, let’s complete the story within movie three, and not go on endlessly’, if it’s just not profitable," Cameron says.
"We’re in a different world now than we were when I wrote this stuff, even. It’s the one-two punch – the pandemic and streaming. Or, conversely, maybe we’ll remind people what going to the theatre is all about. This film definitely does that. The question is: how many people give a **** now?"
That’s a question that remains to be answered – and naturally, it has implications for the LEGO Avatar theme. So far ten LEGO sets inspired by the Avatar film series have been announced, with five inspired by Avatar: The Way of Water available for purchase on January 1 next year. Since each one (presumably) connects to a specific Avatar movie scene, that means fewer movies will probably mean fewer LEGO Avatar sets in the long run. A pity, given the theme’s innovative parts usage.
Could a LEGO Avatar theme survive once the film series has wrapped up? It’s possible – as evidenced by the likes of LEGO Star Wars and LEGO DC – but unlikely. Most LEGO licensed themes only release a handful of sets, even if the source material that inspired it has been knocking around for a while (as the likes of LEGO Scooby-Doo makes clear).
While it’s riding high at the moment, the Avatar franchise doesn’t quite have the cultural presence its commercial success would indicate. That could mean LEGO Avatar won’t hold interest to a mass audience for long after the films are finished releasing. A more pressing issue is that fewer Avatar films means less source material – which could mean a broader Avatar theme struggles to innovate or justify its continued existence.
As such, if LEGO Avatar is important to you, you might not want to wait for the new Avatar movie to come out on streaming. You can now purchase all of the LEGO Avatar sets inspired by the first movie at LEGO.com.
Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links.
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