James Cameron has become most well-known for his Avatar franchise, as it has been the director’s main focus since the first film was released in 2009. However, his upcoming movie plans that aren’t related to the series are much more exciting than his three remaining Avatar sequels. The future seems to be filled with Avatar when it comes to James Cameron’s filmography, as the director has three more films in the franchise scheduled through 2031. In between these, however, James Cameron will be working on two other films, meaning that Avatar isn’t his sole focus anymore.

Avatar had always been a pᴀssion project for James Cameron, with him having had the idea long before the technology to pull the story off actually existed. Cameron’s love for the franchise and the mᴀssive box office success of 2009’s Avatar led to the franchise being greatly expanded. James Cameron conceived an epic five-movie Avatar saga, with the second film not being released until 2022. Despite this mᴀssive time gap, Avatar: The Way of Water proved to be a box office hit as well, raising hopes for the next three films. However, some James Cameron fans would rather see him move beyond Avatar.

James Cameron Has Two Non-Avatar Movies In Development Now

The Last Train From Hiroshima & The Devils

As it turns out, James Cameron now has two movies in development that are not part of the Avatar franchise. Despite mainly focusing on Avatar for the past few years, he has managed to do a bit of work on projects in between Avatar films. Cameron co-wrote Alita: Battle Angel and has started working on the sequel, and he also co-wrote and produced Terminator: Dark Fate. Now, it has been revealed that James Cameron has two other projects that he is developing, with both of them being likely to be released sometime after Avatar 5.

The first of these projects is James Cameron’s Last Train from Hiroshima. The film is based on Charles Pellegrino’s books The Last Train from Hiroshima, which Cameron optioned in 2010, and Ghosts of Hiroshima. Cameron’s film will tell the story of a Japanese man who survived the American atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, with him then boarding a train to Nagasaki and surviving the atomic bomb that was dropped there as well. Very few details have been provided about the project, such as if James Cameron plans on directing it or when it will be released.

The second project was announced in 2025, with James Cameron set to adapt The Devils, the 2025 fantasy book from author Joe Abercrombie. The film is set in a world where flesh-eating elves are invading Europe, leading to a team of monsters, murderers, and magicians, being brought together to take on the fantastical force. In Cameron’s statement, he states that he is excited to start working on The Devils after finishing work on Avatar: Fire & Ash, meaning that the film could potentially come out before Avatar 4 or Avatar 5. Here are his full comments:

Avatar’s 3 Upcoming Sequels Could Be Great, But They’re Limiting James Cameron

He Hasn’t Had A Non-Avatar Film Since 1997

I’m a huge Avatar fan, and I am undoubtedly excited to see the next three sequels. However, I am also a James Cameron fan. Thus, I am a bit disappointed at how much of Cameron’s time the Avatar films have consumed. The Avatar movies take an incredibly long time to make, as was proven by the 13-year gap between Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water. At a minimum, Cameron will be working on the sequels until 2031, and I am not confident in the fact that the remaining Avatar sequels won’t be delayed again.

James Cameron hasn’t directed a non-Avatar film since 1997’s тιтanic, with there being a 12-year gap between it and his next film, 2009’s Avatar. James Cameron previously made all kinds of films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, such as The Terminator franchise, Aliens, The Abyss, and True Lies. Now that Cameron is so focused on big-budget spectacles, his output is far lower. While I prefer quality over quanтιтy, I wish that James Cameron was able to spread his wings a bit more rather than spending three decades working on Avatar movies.

The Devils & The Last Train From Hiroshima Are A Return To James Cameron’s Pre-Avatar Career

They Are Stand-Alone Movies In Different Genres

Luckily, the announcements of The Devils and The Last Train From Hiroshima are a sign that James Cameron may be returning to his previous career path. If Cameron takes breaks between Avatar movies and these projects, he will have a more diverse filmography, fixing his focus on Avatar since тιтanic was released in 1997. Although Cameron has always worked on franchises, he has also taken big swings with stand-alone movies, and these two projects will be a return to that.

These films also will allow James Cameron to return to one of his best traits: genre-hopping. The Terminator, тιтanic, and The Abyss are all great, but they as well as most of Cameron’s other films exist as part of very different genres. With these two films, Cameron will be able to work on a fantasy film and a historical epic, while still working on the sci-fi Avatar movies. The Last Train From Hiroshima feels a lot like тιтanic, while The Devils feels more like an action-focused The Terminator movie, meaning that Cameron will have something to offer for fans of each of these genres.

I Really Hope James Cameron Goes On To Direct The Devils & The Last Train From Hiroshima

Since He Is Just Developing Them For Now

As of the writing of this article, the extent of James Cameron’s involvement in these two projects isn’t known. All that is known is that he is currently writing the scripts and developing the films. However, his main focus is still Avatar, meaning that it is unknown if he will direct these two adaptations.

Although it hasn’t been announced yet, I really hope he does direct these films. If he just hands off the scripts to another director, I will be a bit disappointed, as he clearly has a lot of pᴀssion for both of these projects. While I love Avatar, it would be a shame for him to only make Avatar movies from the turn of the century until the 2030s. Both of these projects are the perfect opportunity for him to take a step away from the world of Pandora, giving James Cameron a break from Avatar.