As of my knowledge cutoff date of September 2021, Avatar 4 had not been officially confirmed by the film’s creators, James Cameron and Jon Landau. However, rumors and speculation have been circulating for years about potential sequels to the 2009 blockbuster hit Avatar, which was a groundbreaking film in terms of its visual effects and immersive world-building.
The original Avatar movie, which starred Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver, grossed over $2.7 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing film of all time until it was surpassed by Avengers: Endgame in 2019. It follows the story of a disabled marine who is sent to a distant planet called Pandora to infiltrate the native Na’vi people and gain their trust in order to exploit the planet’s valuable resources.
After the success of Avatar, Cameron announced plans to make multiple sequels, with Avatar 2 originally set to be released in 2014. However, the release date was pushed back multiple times, and as of September 2021, Avatar 2 is scheduled for release in December 2022, over a decade after the original film’s release.
While Cameron has confirmed that Avatar 2 and 3 are in production and have been filmed simultaneously, there has been no official announcement regarding a fourth installment in the franchise. However, in a 2017 interview with Collider, Cameron hinted that there could be more Avatar movies in the future:
“I’ve divided my time over the last 16 years over deep ocean exploration and filmmaking. I’ve made two movies in 16 years, and I’ve done eight expeditions. Last year, I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm. So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the Avatar business. Period. That’s it. I’m making Avatar 2, Avatar 3, maybe Avatar 4, and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts.”
This statement suggests that while there may not have been an official confirmation of Avatar 4 at the time, Cameron was at least considering the possibility of making more Avatar films beyond the planned trilogy.
In addition to Cameron’s comments, there have been other indications that Avatar 4 could be in the works. For example, in a 2019 interview with Deadline, Landau said that “We’ve started to bump up against the limitations of our art form” and that “We need to continue to create new and better technology to allow us to do what we want to do in our storytelling.”
This comment could be interpreted as a hint that there are plans to push the boundaries of visual effects even further in future Avatar movies, which could include a fourth installment.
Overall, while Avatar 4 has not been officially confirmed, there are signs that it could be a possibility in the future. Fans of the franchise will have to wait and see what James Cameron and Jon Landau have in store for the world of Pandora.