The production of Avatar films requires a lot of special effects and, accordingly, a lot of money. Despite earning billions overall, the franchise’s latest box office may fall short of securing a sequel.

The original 2009 Avatar remains the highest-grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation) and earned $2.9 billion, while 2022’s The Way of Water brought in $2.3 billion, but the new Fire and Ashes, after four weeks in theaters, has stalled at $1.2 billion, which is significantly less than its predecessors’ figures for the same period.

The third film has less and less chance of repeating the success of the first two, although the existence of the next parts directly depends on its results.

Although Disney has already scheduled release dates for “Avatar 4” and “Avatar 5” – December 21, 2029, and December 19, 2031 – the studio may still cancel them.

Cameron himself confirmed this, citing the “damn” huge budget of Avatar 3, and now in an interview with Taiwanese publication TVBS, he said that he is actively looking for ways to reduce the cost of producing the sequels.

“Michelle Yeoh will star in Avatar 4 if we make it,” Cameron said. “The thing is, the film industry is in a slump right now. The third film cost a lot. We have to get good numbers and figure out how to make Avatars cheaper in order to continue.”

Cameron added that the fourth and fifth films form one big story, so the studio must release both.

“If we go ahead and make the fourth one, we’ll make it together with the fifth. Like the first two parts, it’s one big story. Michelle will be in both of the next ones. She’ll play a character created using performance capture technology. Her name is Paktuelat. She’ll be a Na’vi.”

Otherwise, Cameron said he would quietly walk away and reveal the sequels’ plot in a book or at a separate press conference.

“I’ve been in the world of Avatar for 20 years… Even 30, because I wrote the story in ’95, but I didn’t work on it continuously for the first 10. If it ends there, that’s fine. There’s one open theme. I’ll write a book!”

At the time Avatar 3 premiered, Disney pulled a clever move: it screened four different Avengers teasers, prompting fans to return for Avatar: The Last Airbender.