Though it’s spending a little more time in the oven than its chief competitors, James Cameron is expected to open the floodgates to his vast Avatar universe from 2018 onwards, at which point moviegoers will be treated to sci-fi stories “many times more amazing” than the 2009 original.
At least, that’s according to Sigourney Weaver. Variety caught up with the actress and all-round industry icon to discuss A Monster Calls, Juan Antonio Bayona’s fantasy tale that follows a young boy as he wrangles with an impending loss. It’s a role Weaver welcome with open arms, too, given her commitment to not only Avatars 2, 3, 4 and 5, but also Marvel’s The Defenders and Neill Blomkamp’s shelved Alien 5. On the topic of the former, the actress, who is seemingly on board to play a whole new character in Avatar 2, revealed that in terms of sheer scope, the current scripts are much more grand and ambitious than their forebear.
“In my opinion, the three scripts I’ve read so far are many times more amazing than the first one in terms of their scope. He did a lot of the heavy lifting in the first movie, establishing the family and the relationships and the world, and now he really gets to play.”
After amassing a record-breaking $2.78 billion, we imagine that 20th Century Fox and Co. will lend James Cameron free rein as he drastically expands the world of Pandora. Although, even with such ambitious plans in place, the director is quick to stress that he sees the Avatar franchise as a family saga, one which reins in the focus on Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).
Aiming to shoot all sequels concurrently, Avatar 2 has been tentatively slated for December 2018.