Avatar 3, rumored to be called The Seed Bearer, is already filmed, and will be released in 2024. But there are two more Avatar sequels on the way — here’s when they come out and what they could be about.
Avatar: The Way of Water has finally arrived, a full 13 years after its predecessor. But with the movie poised to be a smash hit, and Avatar 3, 4, and 5 plans announced a decade ago, it’s hard not to immediately look ahead at what’s next for the world of Pandora and the larger Avatar universe.
Director James Cameron has been on an extensive press tour for Avatar 2 and a lot of the talk has involved the theoretical three Avatar sequels that are apparently on the way. Cameron hasn’t been shy about where those movies or at and basic details, which means we know more about what the next decade has in store for Avatar than we might with a typical franchise.
One thing that may surprise fans, based on how these massive franchises normally work, is how Cameron went about writing them. After the success of the original movie, when plans for so many sequels were first made, Cameron put together a writers’ room similar to the ones assembled for a season of television. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), and Shane Salerno (Hawaii Five-0) worked along with Cameron to develop the story for the franchise, then split up to each take a script for a film. This kind of proactive approach also shows up in how Cameron went about filming the movies; large parts of the next three movies have already been filmed with actors Sam Worthington, Stephen Lange, Zoe Saldaña, and the new child actors.
But with all those exciting behind-the-scenes details revealed, it still doesn’t give us the full picture of what we know about the next three Avatar movies. So here’s a breakdown on Avatar 3, 4, and 5, pieced together from Cameron’s comments and our conversations with the Avatar: The Way of Water crew.
[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water, and also potentially for future Avatar movies.]
Avatar 3 is set for release on Dec. 20, 2024. Originally the setup of releasing one Avatar movie every two years was designed to give the franchise room to breathe (though not 13 years this time around) while leaving Disney space to release new Star Wars movies. Since those plans were made, however, Star Wars’ theatrical future has become a little murkier, but Disney still shouldn’t have too much trouble finding something to replace Rogue Squadron if it’s not ready in time.
