James Cameron says he may not direct ‘Avatar’ 4 and 5 himself

nypost.com:

Empire, Cameron said the fact that sci-fi films take so much time to make might mean he won’t be captaining the ship on the final two movies.“The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming,” he told the outlet. “I’ve got some other things I’m developing as well that are exciting.”“I think eventually over time – I don’t know if that’s after three or after four – I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in.

Or maybe not. I don’t know,” the “Titanic” director added.After the original film’s release in 2009, the storyline got four sequels added on to its name.The first of the upcoming three films, titled “Avatar: The Way of Water,” will be released in December, and stars Kate Winslet as Ronal, the leader of the Metkayina, a lesser-known clan of the Na’vi tribe.It marks Cameron and Winslet reuniting for the first time since “Titanic,” which was released in 1997.The untitled third “Avatar” film, which was shot back-to-back with the sequel, is set to hit theaters in 2024.Cameron, 67, admitted he’s excited to see the storyline develop with each sequel.“Everything I need to say about family, about sustainability, about climate, about the natural world, the themes that are important to me in real life and in my cinematic life, I can say on this canvas,” he told Empire.“I got more excited as I went along.

Movie four is a corker. It’s a motherf—er. I actually hope I get to make it. But it depends on market forces. Three is in the can so it’s coming out regardless.

I really hope that we get to make four and five because it’s one big story, ultimately.”“Avatar” is the highest-grossing movie of all time at the global box office with $2.84.