As Avatar: The Way of Water heads to theaters on December 16, director James Cameron addresses the possibility of making spinoffs for his critically successful franchise. The first Avatar is still the highest-grossing film of all time, and the sequel is so far opening to critical success, with top-tier world-building and stunning visuals being its strong points. Set more than a decade after the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water sees Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) with their own family, the tribulations that follow them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, and the tragedies they endure. Currently, there are a total of three more feature-length films planned for the franchise.
In a conversation with ComicBook.com, Cameron and producer Jon Landau address whether or not the world of Avatar will be coming to television via the streaming platform Disney+ – a trend that most of Disney’s major franchises seem to be following. While not directly answering the possibility of a Disney+ spinoff, Landau said, “we see the world of Pandora as one that can expand beyond the film.” He also pointed out that the franchise already has in the forms of a Circ du Soleil traveling show, the interactive location at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Avatar: The High Ground, a three-volume graphic novel series from Dark Horse Comics. When Cameron was asked about the possibility, he simply said that, while he could see it happening eventually, the technology just isn’t there yet. Read what Cameron had to say below:
“In terms of spinning off from Avatar, the problem is the characters are photoreal CG and it doesn’t really fit a TV pipeline kind of model yet. Now, maybe 10 years from now, if we inject enough machine, deep-learning, and A.I. into the process, it might be possible to collapse down from a one year timeline to do a shot, down closer to real time. I don’t know if we’ll get to real time but I think we might get close enough to do television, but it won’t be for, I’d say minimum five years, maybe more like 10. But if Avatar becomes a universe, if it becomes a persistent world for people and the desire is there, yeah. I could see that happening eventually.”
What An Avatar Spinoff Could Look Like
As pointed out by producer Landau, Cameron already played with the Avatar franchise and produced stories outside the films. The Circ du Soleil show, Toruk – First Flight, first premiered in 2015 and went back several thousand years to tell the tale of the first Toruk Makto. Landau also pointed out that Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is set in a Pandora that exists after the Avatar films. Seeing the creative minds behind Avatar jump back and forth within the timeline of events is something they can continue in any hypothetical TV spinoff. An Avatar spinoff could follow the decay of Earth or a different Na’vi tribe in different timelines and in more detail.
Should An Avatar Spinoff TV Show Exist?
As the Avatar films have proven to be the most expensive in Hollywood history, it’s not likely that they’ll ever be brought to the small screen soon. As Cameron said, the franchise demands photorealistic CGI that just isn’t cost-effective enough for a TV show. The biggest draw of the Avatar franchise is its world-building and visuals, which are two qualities that are enhanced by the cinematic experience of seeing the films in theaters. The first Avatar had Cameron artistically using 3D technology, alongside photorealistic CGI, and the director’s done it again with the sequel. The Avatar franchise was made for the silver screen with visual spectacle through technical achievement in mind and is, therefore, right where it belongs.
There’s little doubt that Avatar’s deserving of a spin-off, as it’d serve as a testament to the franchise’s rich world-building. But Avatar belongs and deserves to be seen on the big screen, bringing back Denis Villeneuve’s comments about trying to see his Dune on a television screen. Avatar: The Way of Water is the kind of movie made for the big-screen experience, which any spinoff made for television wouldn’t be able to match.
Source: ComicBook.com