James Cameron wants the Avatar fans to something before the third instalment hits the theatres.
The director confirmed that Avatar 3 will be the longest film in the franchise so far.
Cameron, known for his epic storytelling and even longer runtimes, is once again pushing the boundaries with Avatar: Fire and Ash, which is set to hit theaters on December 19, 2025.
In a recent interview with Empire, Cameron explained why the upcoming sequel will surpass Avatar: The Way of Water in length.
“In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of Movie 2,” he shared.
Reflecting on the previous installment, which clocked in at 3 hours and 12 minutes, he admitted, “It was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character.”
His solution? Expanding the story even further.
“So I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to split it.’ […] Movie 3 will actually be a little bit longer than Movie 2.”
For those keeping track, the original Avatar in 2009 had a runtime of 2 hours and 42 minutes, while its 2022 sequel stretched past three hours. Now, Fire and Ash is set to top them all.
Despite their lengthy runtimes, the Avatar films have dominated the box office, with the first two earning over $5.2 billion combined.
After a 2022 re-release ahead of The Way of Water, the original Avatar reclaimed its title as the highest-grossing film of all time, crossing $2.9 billion globally.
With Cameron at the helm, one thing is certain: when audiences return to Pandora, they should get comfortable—because they’re in for another long ride.
