After the release of Avatar: Of Fire and Ashesmany wondered if James Cameron would really complete his five-film plan. The third installment crushed the box office less than its predecessors, and some feared that Disney tighten the screw on the sequels.
Good news for Pandora fans: behind the scenes, Avatar 4 And Avatar 5 are indeed progressing. The producer Rae Sanchini even speaks of a project launched “at full speed”, with scripts completed and a schedule being locked. A key question remains: will the 2029 and 2031 dates hold up to market realities?
Avatar 4 and 5: where is the saga really after Fire and Ashes?
The financial context is colossal. The first Avatar grossed around 2.9 billion dollars, or around 2.7 billion euros, and remains the biggest success in history. Avatar: The Way of Water followed with 2.3 billion dollars, around 2.1 billion euros, third best score worldwide.
Avatar: Of Fire and Ashes made a little less, with 1.5 billion dollars, or almost 1.4 billion euros. This is the lowest result of the saga, but it remains gigantic and at the top of the 2025 ranking. Problem, as recalled James Cameron“The movie industry is depressed right now. Avatar 3 cost a lot of money. We have to do well to continue,” he explained in an interview cited by IGN.
Avatar 4 and 5 are moving forward at full speed: what Rae Sanchini promises
Asked by Inverse, Rae Sanchini assures that pre-production is in full swing: “Right now, we are in the process of defining the schedule. We are working hard on it, on the budget, the planning, the preparation, the construction of our new pipeline for these films. For us, it’s full speed ahead.” The “pipeline” refers to the entire chain of tools and steps that manages the massive special effects of the saga.
Other crucial information: the scenarios ofAvatar 4 And Avatar 5 are already written. “We have the scripts, they are brilliant. As far as I am concerned, we are moving forward,” adds the producer. Cameron and the cast have previously filmed scenes forAvatar 4 (and even some shots of 5) with Jake and Neytiri’s children, in order to anticipate a time jump of around eight years. As with episodes 2 and 3, the filmmaker wants to shoot 4 and 5 together: “We did 2 and 3 together, a big story. Then 4 and 5 will be another big story,” he explained.
Avatar 4 and 5: what release dates for 2029 and 2031, and what obstacles?
Officially, Avatar 4 is scheduled for December 21, 2029 and Avatar 5 to December 19, 2031 in the United States, dates which should result in French releases in mid-December. But Rae Sanchini warns that these meetings remain “tentative” and that a more solid schedule must be set “in the not too distant future”. Multiple past postponements show that this calendar can still move.
The prudence of Disney is logical: each film would cost between 350 and 400 million dollars, or approximately 325 to 370 million euros. James Cameron repeats that he must learn to make films Avatar cheaper, in a context where theater attendance remains around 75 percent of the 2019 level, between streaming and the lasting effects of Covid. He says he is ready to stop after 3 if the numbers do not follow, even if it means concluding the last narrative thread in a book. For now, however, the message from the plateau is clear: the road to Avatar 4 And Avatar 5 is mapped out, although each step will depend on the inputs.