Avatar is coming back (and it's kind of our fault)
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My twelve years old self wouldn’t be proud of me (I fucking talk about my twelve years old self a lot. Don't I?) I didn’t read comic books or compulsively watched the old Star Wars movies back then, but I would’ve loved the idea of what Disney is doing right now. Opening up a franchise to every fucking logical possibility. Why only make a Spider-Man movie when you can make a movie about every superhero? Better yet, make it a conjoined universe where your favorite characters refer to one another in their respective movies. Brilliant, right?
Not so much. Deadline-driven production is not great for creativity. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Too much Marvel is like too much ice cream. It makes you feel bloated and disgusting afterwards.
But the Star Wars and Marvel extended universes are the devils we know. They were market-driven decisions meant to capitalize on our relationship to our own youth. Disney went into such an ambitious, large scale project because they knew we were going to buy it. Nostalgia is a helluva drug. But what if I told you there’s another extended universe coming your way ? One you’ve never asked for?
Remember the large blue things?
I’m sure that before reading this, you had completely forgotten about James Cameron’s movie Avatar. Which is crazy, right? Why has everyone forgotten about the second-highest grossing movie of all-time?
Because it was not that good to begin with. Avatar was an expansive (and expensive) visual spectacle that harnessed new and exciting technology, but it didn’t tell a memorable story. Even when it came out, people accused it of being a ripoff of Pocahontas. It’s a movie that is meant to be enjoyed in a theater setting that doesn’t have much rewatchable value once you’ve experienced what it had to offer the first time. In other words, we’ve collectively made it the second highest grossing movie of all-time because of the 3D spectacle. The movie is just accessory to whatever technical feat James Cameron was trying to accomplish. It’s a recurring theme with him.
Now, I would’ve have raised a stink about Avatar in 2021 if it was just something that happened. Aquaman is the 23rd highest grossing movie of all-time, but I know it’s never going to happen again. But Avatar is not over. It never was. Cameron never stopped working on the large blue things. Avatar 2 was always a part of the plan. Matter of fact, it was supposed to come out seven years ago. A film delayed that often is usually bound to never come out, but Avatar 2 is coming. December 16 2022 is the official date.
Avatar 3 is also coming in 2024. Avatar 4 in 2026. Avatar 5 in 2028 and it’s not the end of it. They are not just ideas on paper. They are being filmed right now. They have been since 2017. James Cameron is going full Disney with it. There was a hastily put together video game in 2009, a fucking Cirque du Soleil show in 2015 (which wasn’t that good), comic books, a theme park and apparently four novels coming up. Tell me: who gives a shit about all this except James Cameron?
But should we (give a shit)?
What makes James Cameron’s whole Avatar infatuation so disturbing is that it doesn’t really offer value to anyone, except James Cameron himself. The Disney Star Wars revival and the Marvel Cinematic Universe were based on our desire to see characters of our youth live a new life. To see them embodied by actors of our generation. I loved the idea of seeing grey haired Han Solo on screen again, but I don’t even remember the name of Sam Worthington’s character in Avatar. Do you? Don’t lie to yourself. You don’t.
When a franchise becomes iconic, it’s because it reflects something in the audience. Marvel’s The Punisher is beloved because we all feel like we’ve been wronged at some point in our lives and he exerts catharsis for us. Star Wars is so fondly remembered because our understanding of it evolves when we get older: at first we want to be the hero of the story (Luke Skywalker), then we identify with the rebel (Han Solo) and finally come to understand our dark side through the villain (Darth Vader). There’s an organic chain reaction starting with the source material. I don’t know what Avatar 2 will look like, but can we agree that the organic reaction from the first one was a complete failure? The bogus, derivative hero’s journey reflected nothing except James Cameron’s desire for a legacy project.
So, my qualm with this project is that it is using financial means and James Cameron’s brand recognition to take a shortcut to immortality. It would literally not exist if there weren’t people hired to try and craft meaning to a really rigid narrative template. Avatar exists because Cameron wants his own Star Wars to be remembered by.
So, should you give a shit? No and to be honest, I don’t think you will either way. I don’t know how Avatar is going to live in theaters without groundbreaking technology to lure you in. Maybe it will have groundbreaking technology, I don’t know. Perhaps it’ll be the first movie you can experience on Occulus. It will make money if it’s the case and assure the longevity of the franchise no matter what.
But you still won’t care. Won’t you?
Why we will keep watching Avatar movies anyway
Because they’re a symptom of a deeper cultural malaise that inhabits us all. We don’t think proactively about our entertainment. We’re never questioning the offer. When we walk into a movie theater, we select among what’s available to us in order to maximize our enjoyment for the following two hours. We don’t know what we want, but we know we want to have a good time.
James Cameron banks on that in order to lure to Avatar 2. I don’t think he considers himself to be an artist or a storyteller as much as he considers himself to be an entertainer. His primary concern is to provide a spectacle and not really reflect our condition or values.
I might even see it myself, since it’s coming out so close to the Christmas break. This is the time of the year where you go see movies with kids and grandparents and if I get into this situation, I’m not going to air my James Cameron grievances to them. I'm airing them to you. I’m going to watch the movie, stuff my face with popcorn and try my best to have a good time.
But I won’t be giving a shit either. Cameron's got us trapped.
