Prepare for another long day in cinemas while watching the Avatar franchise’s adventures in Pandora for the highly anticipated threequel, Fire and Ash. Director James Cameron confirms a familiar and unsurprising runtime for the upcoming sci-fi adventure flick.
Speaking with Empire Magazine, Cameron revealed Fire and Ash would run for 3 hours and 12 minutes, the same runtime as the previous sequel, The Way of Water. The shortest runtime of the Avatar film series remains the record-breaking first installment, which lasted 2 hours and 42 minutes.
Cameron insists the long runtime will be worth it for audiences, promising it features many things they “haven’t seen before” in an Avatar film. “You can get your blood up in this movie. But what excites me as an artist who recently turned 70 and has kind of done all that stuff is not only the opportunity to get to do it again, but to get to a level of character and intrigue you haven’t seen before in an Avatar movie,” he said.
The Avatar Franchise Continues
Given the historic box-office numbers the Avatar franchise has attracted since 2009, it’s unlikely the huge runtime will turn away movie enthusiasts from watching Fire and Ash. Avatar is the highest-grossing film in history, earning over $2.92 billion worldwide, while The Way of Water sits third on the all-time list, making $2.32 billion globally. Fire and Ash was shot concurrently with The Way of Water, with Cameron deep in the post-production process for the threequel, which is taking place in New Zealand.
Director James Cameron says Avatar 3 will take audiences to “places they won’t expect”.
Fire and Ash promises more emotion than the previous two Avatar entries, with the film exploring the Sully family’s grief after the tragedy they suffered in The Way of Water. Cameron hinted at Fire and Ash having an increased moral focus, while star Zoë Saldaña stated that handling grief would be the overarching story arc in the upcoming blockbuster. Saldaña features in Fire and Ash alongside Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Sigourney Weaver (Kiri), Kate Winslet (Ronal), Oona Chaplin (Varang), Stephen Lang (Colonel Miles Quaritch) and Britain Dalton (Lo’ak).
The third of five planned Avatar films by Cameron (though he’s teased doing even more), Fire and Ash will introduce new Na’vi to the story and resurrect dead characters from previous franchise entries. A director’s cut, which could premiere on Disney+, will also debut. The director’s cut was reportedly as long as the three Avatar films combined, though Cameron has since rubbished the claims.
Fire and Ash opens in theaters on Dec. 19.