James Cameron has spoken out about directing Avatar 4 and 5 at the age of 70. The тιтanic filmmaker, born in 1954, is turning 71 in August and currently has five movies in the pipeline at different stages of development. The highly anticipated Avatar: Fire and Ash is coming to movie theaters in December.

Meanwhile, Avatar 4 is scheduled for 2029, and Avatar 5 is expected in 2031. In addition to heavy franchise duties, Cameron is also confirmed to be adapting Joe Abercrombie’s novel The Devils as well as Charles R. Pellegrino’s The Last Train From Hiroshima and Ghosts of Hiroshima.

During an interview with Empire, James Cameron addressed whether he still intends to direct Avatar 4 and 5. He shared that “there’s no reason not to,” and he’d do it for as long as he could. Although the director doesn’t rule out “factors out of [his] control,” he ᴀssured readers that he believes he could handle “the kind of volume and energy of the work for another six or seven years.”

Check out Cameron’s full comments below:

I mean, there’s no reason not to. I’m healthy, I’m good to go. I’m not going to rule it out. I mean, I’ve got to make it in a vigorous way, to handle the kind of volume and energy of the work for another six or seven years. You know what I mean? I might not be able to do that.

I had a great working relationship – and I’m using this as an example, not as an answer – with Robert Rodriguez on Alita. He honoured what I had written. We worked very collaboratively. If I can, I’ll just do it.

What James Cameron’s Update Means For Avatar 4 & 5

Cameron Has An Airтιԍнт Plan

Cameron is committed to directing the upcoming two Avatar movies, and he also has a detailed plan to ensure balance and sustainability. With the scripts for the third to fifth installments already finished, Cameron had time to plan ahead. In fact, half of Avatar 4 was sH๏τ alongside Avatar: Fire and Ash to ensure consistency in the younger actors’ ages.

While the release dates of both sequels go up to 2031, the director has only one and a half films left to shoot. Previously, Cameron also explained that he wouldn’t resume filming until the release of the third entry (via Yahoo).

Meanwhile, Cameron’s exact timeline for filming The Last Train From Hiroshima is unclear, but he could be looking to make it between the third and fourth Avatar movies or after the franchise is done. Either way, he is “hellbent” on directing this movie to fulfill a promise he made to a survivor of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki before his death (via ᴅᴇᴀᴅline).

Our Take On James Cameron’s Commitment To Avatar

Avatar Is In Good Hands

The fact that Cameron is realizing The Last Train From Hiroshima to keep a promise he made a long time ago speaks to his character. On the other hand, his statement offers a health update and sheds some light on how the тιтanic director plans to carry out the heavy franchise duties.

While he may feel that he has to direct The Last Train From Hiroshima himself, in the case of circumstances that would prevent him from helming the Avatar films, he already has a backup plan to ensure that the franchise will be in good hands. Thus, it sounds like fans of Avatar have nothing to worry about.

Source: Empire, Yahoo, ᴅᴇᴀᴅline