Summary
- James Cameron plans to continue the Avatar franchise up to at least a seventh entry and potentially beyond, but he may on the franchise after the fifth movie.
- Denis Villeneuve, Sofia Coppola, Drew Goddard, and more are all talented directors who could potentially take over the Avatar series and bring a fresh perspective.
- These directors have proven their abilities to create immersive worlds, tell character-driven stories, and handle big-budget projects, making them standout options to carry the franchise into a new era.
James Cameron is the visionary who is bringing the Avatar franchise to life one film at a time, but his plans for the future of the series appear to extend beyond himself. Cameron simultaneously recorded both Avatar 2 and Avatar 3, and ahead of those projects, he had planned for many years where the franchise was going. When Avatar was initially released in 2009, Cameron had hoped to release the sequel within a few years. However, now that the series is in active development, Cameron revealed that he has written scripts up to the fifth entry (via People).
“We're fully written through movie five, and I've got ideas for six and seven, although I'll probably be handing the baton on at that point,”
Ever the visionary, Cameron's reveal that he has an idea about where the franchise could go with a potential sixth and seventh movie is enough to get people talking, but then he indicated that he may be looking to on the franchise to someone new. Cameron's work has been exceptional, but handing over control to such a significant franchise, which has already racked up $5.2 billion after just two movies is a monumental task (via The Numbers). There are plenty of young, talented directors in Hollywood, but only a few could reasonably carry the franchise into a new era.
Avatar is a 2009 science fiction film directed by James Cameron. Set in the 22nd century, it follows a paraplegic Marine sent to the moon Pandora on a mission. He becomes conflicted between his orders and defending the indigenous Na'vi civilization.
8 Denis Villeneuve
Known For Directing: Dune: Part One & Two, Blade Runner 2049, Arrival
Denis Villeneuve is one of the hottest names in Hollywood, having directed a string of highly successful projects since 2013. In 2021, he released his most ambitious film to date, Dune: Part One, a new adaptation of Frank Herbert's epic novel. Villeneuve has proven his ability to create expansive worlds and alien creatures. The film explores large and intimidating themes and messages in a way that is digestible, entertaining, and stunning. Carrying the Avatar franchise into a new direction would require all of these talents, and Villeneuve's experience would make him a standout option to take the series forward.
7 Sofia Coppola
Known For Directing: Lost In Translation, The Virgin Suicides, The Beguiled
One of Cameron's first great successes was the historical romance movie Titanic. While Sofia Coppola may not have experience in sci-fi, her work on films like Lost in Translation and The Beguiled shows her talent for telling a character-driven story in a setting that appears alien. Coppola is also the daughter of legendary director, Francis Ford Coppola, and growing up around the talented director allowed Sofia to develop her style and ways to explore different genres. If Coppola were interested in tackling Avatar, it would be interesting to see how she approaches the story and the world of Pandora.
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6 Drew Goddard
Known For Directing: The Cabin In The Woods
While Drew Goddard is early in his directing career, his talent for storytelling has been proven in other projects. Goddard is the creator and writer of the critically acclaimed Netflix Marvel series, Daredevil. He has also written for shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Lost. Goddard has a keen sense for cutting to the heart of a story and laying it out in clear . His direction for also helped to tie the film together and convey emotion and panic throughout the film.
5 Jordan Peele
Known For Directing: Get Out, Us, Nope
Jordan Peele has been laser-focused on producing psychological horror films with projects like Get Out and Nope, but these talents could also make him a great replacement for Avatar 6 and 7. Cameron has a background directing horror and sci-fi films like Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Through exploring what makes people nervous, Peele could potentially find himself more capable of telling an emotional story that makes people laugh and cry, as opposed to crying into their popcorn. Peele could use his ability to tap into emotion to great effect.
4 Greta Gerwig
Known For Directing: Lady Bird, Little Women, Barbie
On the heels of Gerwig's critically and financially acclaimed film, Barbie, she is now directing a new Chronicles of Narnia project for Netflix. Gerwig clearly has a ion for sci-fi films considering the opening scene of Barbie, which paid tribute to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although Netflix's Narnia is yet to be released, Gerwig has carefully chosen the projects she has been involved with, so she likely thought strongly about the story before accepting the opportunity to direct. With Gerwig's imagination and vision, combined with the resources and concepts developed by Cameron's expertise, the film would likely be a masterpiece.
3 Gareth Edwards
Known For Directing: The Creator, Rogue One, Godzilla (2014)
Gareth Edwards has proven his creativity and ingenious talent for turning what could be a mediocre project into something incredibly satisfying. One of Edwards' most impressive films has to be his latest, The Creator. The film revolves around AI and robots as they try to stay alive when humans come and hunt them down. The film also had a shoestring budget for a sci-fi film with just $80 million (via Variety). Edwards displays some of the same visionary characteristics as Cameron and despite limitations, he made everything work to the highest standard.
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2 Daniel Kwan And Daniel Scheinert
Known For Directing: Everything Everywhere All At One
The Daniels worked together to create potentially the best multiverse story this side of 2020, with Everything Everywhere All at Once. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert managed to keep a story with dozens of realities and diverging ideas and make it something special, earning them seven Oscars for such a spectacular project. The Daniels have big plans for their future, and talking about when they are big enough to deal with it too, yeah. The two directors also appear to have other projects they worked on solo, but their skills work so perfectly in tandem.
1 Rian Johnson
Known For Directing: Knives Out, Looper, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
Rian Johnson is another incredibly talented director who certainly has experience working on huge-budget films and using extensive CGI. Johnson is a master of the murder mystery franchise as well, with films like Glass Onion and Knives Out becoming instant hits. Given the opportunity, Johnson could create something special for the future of the Avatar series, and depending on how much flexibility he has to make the story, he could carve away other parts and help usher in a new era for the franchise.
