Disney, owner of everything, announced today that they will be rolling out four Avatar sequels as well as a new Star Wars Trilogy. The two franchises will trade off releases every December beginning 2021 and ending… Christ, will it ever? They’ve stated that Avatar 5 will drop in 2027 , but we all they’ll keep it going if it makes money.
Disney’s Upcoming Avatar/Star Wars Release Schedule:
Dec 17, 2021 – Avatar 2
Dec 16, 2022 – Untitled Star Wars
Dec 22, 2023 – Avatar 3
Dec 20, 2024 – Untitled Star Wars
Dec 19, 2025 – Avatar 4
Dec 18, 2026 – Untitled Star Wars
Dec 17, 2027 – Avatar 5
But when you break it down, will the Avatar sequels make money? It’s an incredible risk, honestly. I know Avatar was the biggest movie of 2009, and affected people on such a deep level that there actually was an uptick in suicides post-Avatar from depressed fans upset on a soul level that planet Pandora is not real.
Too bad for all those dead souls who now will miss out on at least fifteen more hours of Avatar content. If they waited seven years, they’d have seen the announcement that Disney is making a theme park attraction based on Avatar’s Pandora.
I thoroughly enjoyed Avatar when it released in 2009. It took awhile for the glitz and glitter to wear off to the point I realized that the plot itself of Avatar is lackluster and leaves a lot to be desired. I think it’s success was lent more to the beautiful graphics that took everyone by surprise in 2009. The simple, straightforward plot helped facilitate that.
But now they want to release four Avatar Sequels. It’s so bizarre they’re planning shit out a decade in advance. I remember a time when movie studios barely new what was going to happen next year. Avatar sequels two through five might have been a smart idea to greenlight in 2010. Four Avatar sequels in the 2020s though? I’ll just say it:
It’s a massive risk.
I cannot see it being the hit that Hollywood thinks it will be. I don’t want to bet against James Cameron since the guy has grossed $6.222 billion at the box office in his career, but I have yet to meet a single person who is excited for an Avatar sequel, let alone four more Avatars.
If there’s a hint of competition in the December Avatar 2 releases, it will fail. Avatar, in my opinion, only stands a real chance if there’s nothing else released. By the time Avatar 2 actually releases to theaters, I believe they’ll be through most of production on Avatar 4. If that second Avatar bombs… holy shit, it will be Cameron’s Waterloo.
LINGERING QUESTIONS
- What’s taken an entire decade to officially announce the sequels?
- Is it because Cameron insists on filming all four fucking movies simultaneously?
- I guess he also had to WRITE those four scripts, so you know he had to scour every book in the known universe to find out which ones he will rip off this time.
- Are they REALLY going to roll out Sam Worthington as your lead for four more movies after being exposed as a flash-in-the-pan Hollywood “It” guy of 2008-2010?
- The stilted, wooden actor beat out both Chris Evans and Channing Tatum for the main role.
- We could have had Captain America making out with Gamora, but instead we get this boring dude.
- Who’s a big enough villain/antagonist to carry over four films?
- If it has a hiccup will Disney just cut ties completely? Disney overreacted to Solo but Rogue One did just fine. One little crack or seam and Disney throws out the baby with the bathwater.
Avatar (2009) made such a splash mostly because of it’s effects and visual robustness. It had nothing to do with the story itself, because 2009 was the one year where gimmicky 3D flicks was big in theaters. Avatar just happened to redefine a lot of cinematic tools, so unless Avatars 2 through 5 literally redefine cinema with their special effects, I don’t hold out much hope for the franchise.