James Cameron Says ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ Will ‘Be a Little Bit Longer’ Than ‘The Way of Water’: ‘We Had too Many Great Ideas Packed into Act One of Movie 2’

variety.com:

Jack Dunn Better make it a large popcorn, because James Cameron‘s next “Avatar” film, “Fire and Ash,” will be even longer than 2022’s “The Way of Water,” which clocked in at three hours and 12 minutes.

In a recent sitdown with Empire, Cameron said he and his writers developed too much material for “The Way of Water,” and when production began, had to move some of the story from that movie into its sequel, “Fire and Ash.” “In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2,” Cameron said. “The [film] was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character.

So I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to split it.’” For that reason, Cameron teased, “movie 3 will actually be a little bit longer than movie 2.” Cameron first revealed the title for “Fire and Ash” at D23 in August 2024.

He didn’t reveal any footage at the time, but he did showcase some concept art, which included giant airships, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) riding on a banshee and a sneak peek at the Ash People of the Na’vi dancing around a blazing fire pit. “You’ll see a lot more Pandora that you never saw before,” Cameron said during the D23 presentation. “It’s an insane adventure and a feast for the eyes, but it’s also got very high emotional stakes, more than ever before.