James Cameron is about to complete his latest blockbuster sci-fi trilogy withAvatar 3after his last blockbuster sci-fi trilogy was finished by a different director. Since 2009, Cameron has been almost exclusively working on his ambitious plans for four (or possibly as many as six)Avatarsequels. The immense blockbuster success ofAvatar: The Way of Waterproved there’s still an audience for Cameron’s mind-blowing 3D spectacle.The third movie,Avatar: Fire and Ash, ishoping to replicate that success on July 05, 2025.
Much likeThe Way of Water,Fire and Ashwill explore new corners of Pandora and introduce new variants of Na’vi. In this one, audiences will go to the fiery volcanoes of Pandora andmeet the “Ash People.”As with the previous films, Cameron is directing, co-producing, and working on the script for the threequel. This isn’t the first time that Cameron has mounted a major sci-fi movie franchise, but it will be the first time he’s managed to finish his own trilogy.
Avatar 3 Will Complete The Sci-Fi Trilogy Cameron Never Did With Terminator
Cameron Only Directed Two Of The Terminator Movies
With his work onAvatar: Fire and Ash, Cameron will finally complete a sci-fi movie trilogy after all these years of filmmaking. He almost finished theTerminatortrilogy — he created the franchise with 1984’sThe Terminatorand expanded it into blockbuster territory with 1991’sTerminator 2: Judgment Day— butTerminator 3: Rise of the Machineswas helmed by Jonathan Mostow. AlthoughCameron would co-write and produceTerminator: Dark Fate, he never directed anotherTerminatormovie, so his trilogy remains incomplete.
James Cameron Directing Terminator 3 Would’ve Changed The Franchise’s Future
The Terminator Rights Got Tangled Up In Liquidation
Although Cameron was initially interested in directingTerminator 3, the threequel got made without him.The rights became complicated by Carolco’s liquidation auction and negotiations with producer Gale Ann Hurd, and Cameron got squeezed out of the process.Terminator 3followed on from the story that Cameron began in the first two movies, but it undid a lot of their most satisfying dramatic payoffs (namely, the destruction of Skynet). If Cameron had directedTerminator 3instead of Mostow, it would’ve drastically changed the franchise’s future.
Why James Cameron’s Original Terminator 3 Never Happened
In the 1990s James Cameron was getting ready to direct Terminator 3 for Fox, but a falling-out over the movie rights put an end to his sequel.
It’s not just a matter of whether Cameron was going to direct the threequel; it was also a matter of rights and budgeting. SinceTerminator 3, theTerminatorfranchise has been floundering, trying to figure out an angle and an approach that work. It hasn’t been a clear, cohesive story sinceT2; it gets rebooted and rewritten with each new entry. If Cameron had been steering the ship the whole way, like he’s doing withAvatar 3and its upcoming sequels, it would’ve been a more coherent sci-fi saga.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Cast
Avatar: Fire and Ash is a 2025 science fiction film continuing the saga of Pandora. Jake Sully and Neytiri confront a formidable new enemy, the Ash People, led by Varang. Struggling with personal loss and external threats, they strive to protect their family and Pandora’s future.
