Fans all over the world are eagerly anticipating the release of Avatar 3, especially after the success of James Cameron's The Way of Water. Despite its lengthy runtime of 3 hours and 12 minutes, Avatar 2 made waves at the global box office. This goes against the traditional wisdom that suggests shorter runtimes result in more screenings per day. Avatar 2 proved that a great movie can still sell even if it's around the 3-hour mark.
In today's era, moviegoers seek out long-running theatrical event films when they visit the theater. The Way of Water delivered on this expectation with its visually spectacular and over-the-top runtime. It fulfilled its purpose and left fans wanting more.
Now, what has got fans really excited is the possibility that Avatar 3 could be around the same length.
Is Avatar 3 going to be 9 hours long?
James Cameron filmed The Way of Water and Avatar 3 back-to-back. He even managed to shoot a portion of Avatar 4 before shifting his focus to Avatar 2's visual effects.
Shortly after the release of the second film, during an episode of The Hot Mic podcast, host Jeff Sneider revealed an intriguing detail. He claimed that James Cameron's current cut of Avatar 3 is a staggering 9 hours long. Here is what Sneider had to say:
"There hasn't been any confirmation of this report since the podcast, but it's surely possible that James Cameron shot a lot of footage for The Seed Bearer."
Assembly cuts of films are typically quite long. For example, Zack Snyder's Justice League reportedly had a 5-hour assembly cut. However, requesting CGI work on a 9-hour film could greatly inflate the budget!
It is important to note that there has been no official confirmation regarding the length of Avatar 3. So, for now, this report should be taken with a grain of salt, especially since Jeff Sneider did not reveal any major sources to support his claim.
Avatar 2 already had a reported budget of $460 million (excluding marketing expenses). It has undoubtedly recouped its production costs and generated substantial profits. However, duplicating the same level of success with The Seed Bearer could be challenging. James Cameron will need to find ways to reduce costs, as it will likely be more difficult for Avatar 3 to surpass the $2 billion mark again.
Avatar: The Seed Bearer cast and release date
The Seed Bearer is set to bring back beloved characters, including Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri, Sigourney Weaver as Kiri, Stephen Lang as Recom Quaritch, Britain Dalton as Lo'ak, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Tuk, Jake Champion as Spider, Cliff Curtis as Tonowari, Kate Winslet as Ronal, Bailey Bass as Tsireya, and Filip Geljo as Aonung.
James Cameron also hinted at the introduction of a fiery Na'vi clan led by Oona Chaplin's character. Additionally, David Thewlis and Michelle Yeoh are expected to make their debut in Avatar 3 as part of the Ash people.
Avatar: The Seed Bearer is slated for release on December 20, 2024.
