James Cameron has given his thoughts on the prospect of an Avatar TV series. Cameron is a busy man, with the upcoming release of Avatar 2 and then many more Avatar movies further down the pipeline too.
Avatar 2 will be set around a decade after the events of the first science fiction movie, which released in 2009. As well as diving more into the cultures of the Na’vi, it will explore the planet of Pandora more itself, too. Titled Avatar: The Way of Water, it will focus on the oceans of the alien planet and the various forms of life that live within it.
So, it’s safe to assume that epic action movie will bring even more depth to Pandora, making it feel more immersive and real than ever before. Could that added depth and worldbuilding make space for an Avatar sci-fi series for the small screen, though?
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron was asked whether or not he’d be interested in creating an Avatar TV series to expand on the success of the movies. The director explained that a TV series might not be financially viable, before going further to say that the idea wasn’t something that interested him at the current time.
Cameron said “The problem with these CG characters is that they’re so cost- and labor-intensive that it really doesn’t work for TV. Now, come back in 10 years, with a lot of machine deep learning. Insert it into our pipeline, which we hope to do, over time. We might be able to get to a TV schedule, but it doesn’t interest me right now.”
Cameron’s comments make it clear that an Avatar TV series is off the cards for at least another decade. And, to be honest, we’re not quite sure how an Avatar TV series would work either. The world of the Na’vi and Pandora are so suited to the big screen, that it would pose a challenge to be able to match the scale and scope of what’s come before with something made for television.
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