Is James Cameron’s Vision for the ‘Avatar’ Franchise a Dream?

It was always going be integral to the success of “Avatar.” Cameron had already laid out his plan for four sequels to the original film. My honest reaction was “Has Cameron lost his mind?” I didn’t think the plan was financially feasible. I was unable to understand why “Titanic,” a film that was timeless and amazing, was directing, could have said, “I’d love to spend the next twenty years making “Avatar” films.

The world embarked on the iridescent, psychedelic, flying griffin Journey to Pandora ride in 2009, the year of “Avatar”. It was a richly enjoyable experience for most of us, although I don’t know if anyone really wanted more. It was more like, “Cool!” Now we all know whatfeels. It was almost like the moon landing. Once you’re done, the thrill is gone.

The stakes were high with “Avatar.” The 3D “revolution”, which was essentially a way to artificially increase film industry revenues by giving movies an “extra dimension”, had been a mostly irritating quasi-sham viewers were growing tired of. With its amazing technological advancements, “Avatar” gave 3D a shot in their arm. But it was clear, I believe, that the movie, despite all its brilliance, was an extraordinary anomaly.

The 3D “revolution”, after its release, continued to fade

Cameron was not just building on his success, even though “Avatar”, the highest-grossing movie of all time, unveiled his plan to make “Avatar” more movies. He was also promoting the story of tall, blue-skinned, nobly one-dimensional Amazon ciphers, who no one really cares about. He was going double down. He said, “Yes, the 3D Revolution has arrived. It was I who set the stage for its paradigm-shifting possibilities and I will make it happen. You will come if I make ‘Avatar movies’.

This is why following the money has been integral to this story. Cameron pointed out to the fact that “The Way of Water”, in order to make a profit, must be one of the top-grossing films of all time. It’s a good thing that he admitted it. Yet, there is still an undaunted hubris behind that observation. He was implicitly saying “I know it will.” Profit, loss investment, payoff: All that matters. Cameron’s swinging-for-the fences strategy is also about whether or not the “Avatar” movies actually mean any of that, or if they are just glorified technological showreel.

Already, we have a film culture that is saturated with action and imagistic sensation. Cameron was an architect of this blockbuster aesthetic, appearing in films like “Terminator 2,” “The Terminator,” and “Aliens.” Cameron is now up against the cinema-assassination mystique, which has overpowered other movie culture. I felt a touch of magic in the middle of “The Way of Water,” when we are plunged into the ocean with a virtual-reality immersion. The film’s extended action finale? It felt like “Die Hard VIII: Die Harder on a Boat” but in 3D. At one point, I thought “So what?”

We’ll get even more! We’ll see more of The Future of Movies, including “Avatar 2” sequels. If “The Way of Water” is a commercial failure, what does that mean for the “Avatar” dream? Cameron may still have the power to make his sequels, but if the “Avatar” films cease to be regarded by the audience as special, it may feel as if he has already entered his version of the George Lucas-directing-the-prequels zone. There could be one more bombastic, thinly veiled thrill-ride franchise like the “Avatar” films.

Of course, the dream was that the “Avatar” films would revolutionize movies. Cameron would dedicate his entire life to these films. He was the king for the future. The dream might have been a delusion. Cameron is a great filmmaker. But if he wants to continue making these movies over the years, the future could be leaving him.