James Cameron has taken on what is probably one of the biggest film productions in cinema history with four sequels to Avatar currently underway. Whle we’ve been thinking of how the ace director plans to pull off what many believe to be an daunting task – having to shoot four movies at a stretch and with pre-production work on all four movies ready, – James already has a plan to get them done and released as scheduled.
Filming is now underway on the first two films, which will then go into post-production. Then everybody will get a break, before doing it all again. Assuming everybody survives the first pair. According to Cameron,
Avatar 2 and 3 will be captured together and then [go through postproduction] sequentially. Then we go back and capture 4and 5. They’re all written and they’re all designed, so we literally hit the ground running the day after Avatar 3 comes out, starting capture on 4 and 5 and then post on those and release those. That’s the plan. So, it’s kind of a two-and-two structure
At first, the word was that all four Avatar sequels will be going into simultaneous production, which seemed like a stressful and impossible task in itself. But with the break in production after Avatar 3 confirmed, it now seems like something that though will not be easy, it will be pulled off nicely without much hassle and stress to make the scheduled release date.
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Still, this schedule is also a little bit ambitious. Given his track record with Titanic and Avatar, Cameron has always managed to pull off directing great movies. However, his confidence of shooting parts 4 and 5 without gauging the reactions of the viewers, critics, and movie-lovers alike from parts 2 and 3, is one that raises a lot of questions.
James Cameron tells The Hollywood Reporter that he’s confident in the current release schedule, so maybe he’s set in stone and no popular or critical response will shake his resolve. If something does happen, however, be ready to see those last two release dates shift again.
Either way, with the next two Avatar movies now filming, or in the “capture” process to use James Cameron’s lingo, since everything in the film is being done with motion capture technology, it does seem like we will be getting at least two Avatar movies on schedule.
What do you think?