The rest of James Cameron’s career could be spent making AVATAR movies and he explains why it suits him

Director James Cameron he recently shared that he only has five or six films left before he retires, and he said at least three of those will be Avatars sequel. But there’s a chance the rest of Cameron’s career will be spent making Avatars movie. It may never make it to some of those other projects, and if that’s the way things are, the director agrees and explains why.

During a recent Q&A session with other filmmakers for Empire magazine, the 68-year-old director was asked if he would ever feel guilty about not being able to tell his other stories outside of the Avatar franchise, and he explained that there that’s enough story and technological breakthroughs to build into the Avatar films that it doesn’t feel like the franchise is robbing his career of new ideas. He said:

“Two thoughts in answer to your question: first is that the world of ‘Avatar’ is so vast that I can tell most of the stories I want to tell within it and try out many of the stylistic techniques I hope to explore, and second place, yes… our time as artists is over. I will always mourn some of the stories I can’t bring myself to.

He went on to talk about how he enjoys working with other directors on projects based on his ideas:

“I find great satisfaction when other directors want to explore some of my ideas, like Kathryn Bigelow did with Strange Days, and Robert Rodriguez when I handed over to him in Alita: Battle Angel. I look forward to further collaborations in the future with directors I admire.”

So as a producer, he’ll still be able to act outside of the Avatar universe, and he seems very comfortable with how the rest of his career will play out. He had previously said that he might pass some Avatar sequels on to other directors, saying:

“I’m also developing other things that are exciting. I think over time – I don’t know if after three or four – I’ll want to pass the baton to a director I trust to take over, so I can go and do other things that I’m also interested in doing. Or maybe not. I do not know.”

What would you like Cameron to do as a director in the next ten years? Do you think he will stay with Avatar, or do you think he will try something new and different?