James Cameron's Avatar 4 & 5 "Metric" Revealed As Disney Sequels Get Major Writing Update
By Published May 15, 2026, 3:05 PM EDT Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2026. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2026, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, , Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on . He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts. Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap
James Cameron's and Avatar 5 "metric" has been revealed.
Cameron has revealed the filming cost goals of the two forthcoming sequels in the Avatar franchise, as the movies from Disney get a major writing update from the franchise's creator. The and its following sequel has been up in the air following the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash. Cameron previously stated the third movie in the franchise would need to perform well enough to justify two more sequels. While both movies remain on Disney's release calendar, there has yet to be a final decision on the movies.
Now, speaking on (via ), Cameron revealed he's writing Avatar 4 and Avatar 5, with the intention of making both films while working on other projects as well. He revealed the current delays in production are because he and Disney are working on making the movies cheaper, specifically trying to find a way to "do them in half the time for two-thirds of the cost." He claims it will take a year before they fully figure out how to make this happen.
Check out what Cameron said below:
You know, I’ll be doing some writing. I’ve got a number of projects that I’m cooking. And ‘Avatar 4’ and ‘5’ are still floating out there. We’re going to be looking at some new technologies to try to do them more efficiently. Because they’re hideously expensive and take a long time. I want to do them in half the time for two-thirds of the cost. That’s my metric. And so it’s going to take us a year or so to figure out how to do that.
at the box office, earning $1.49 billion worldwide against a budget between $350-400 million. While this doesn't make it a box office bomb, it does mean the movie underperformed compared to both previous films in the franchise, which earned over $2 billion each globally. While this seemingly meant there was no guarantee the next two movies would be made, producer Rae Sanchini confirmed both films are in pre-production ahead of Fire and Ash's digital release in March 2026.
Based on Cameron's statement, it seems the biggest hurdle for future is budget. The world of Pandora is brought to life through realistic CGI, which makes the movies extremely costly. This is furthered by how lengthy each film is, with the second and third movies being over three hours long each. Due to the ballooning budgets of both films, it makes sense the next two should have decreased budgets while still maintaining the level of realism the franchise is best known for.
It seems this will take quite some time for Cameron and Disney to figure out, despite the leaving some anticipatory, dangling threads the next movies may explore. However, doing so can help preserve the future of the franchise, which is likely going to continue being profitable, especially if they can find a way to cut down on budget while maintaining quality. The exact strategies they'll use remains unknown, but it will likely aid in confirming the franchise's future.
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With the series still poised to end the way Cameron envisions, it seems likely that Avatar 4 and, subsequently, Avatar 5, will be produced, even if there need to be changes to the production approach to make them profitable. As Cameron and Disney continue to figure out what to do, more news is likely to come next year about the status of the sequels' production.
Cast
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Colonel Miles Quaritch -
Neytiri -
Dr. Ian Garvin -
Dr. Karina Mogue
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