ListNook

rogercopernicus Apr 1, 2026 +11

Studio: Hi, James. When do you think.. Cameron: Eat shit. You can have it when i give it to you Studio: Alright Mr. Cameron

11

Tokie-Dokie Mar 31, 2026 +75

“Risk-taking” is not the term I would ever think to use when describing Avatar sequels.

75

Tibbaryllis2 Apr 1, 2026 +12

They’re taking at least one risk. They have Sam Worthington as the star of their multibillion dollar franchise after all. Edit: do we have an acceptable abbreviation for /s^1/2 ?

12

ColonelQuaraitch Apr 1, 2026 +2

He’s very good in Manhunt. It’s his Monster verse.

2

SuperMuCow Mar 31, 2026 +10

Taking more than a decade to do the sequels was definitely a risk. Before *Way of Water* came out, lots of people were adamant that James Cameron was dumb to make them cause no one cared anymore.

10

Troyabedinthemornin Mar 31, 2026 +13

I was gonna say, the 3rd movie was essentially just a rehash of the 2nd

13

djhendo78 Mar 31, 2026 +2

I think James Cameron said they wrote three sequels, but that the first sequel was so big they split it into two. Essentially, The Way of Water is 2A with Fire and Ash being 2B.

2

Troyabedinthemornin Mar 31, 2026 +5

Dude should have just put the new stuff into part 4 because other than the Varang/Quarritch stuff and Spider’s storyline, nothing else advances the story in a meaningful way

5

Orchestrator2 Mar 31, 2026 +9

He's talking about the making of the films. The investment on new technologies, the deep diving scenes, the back to back sequels. Cameron is notorious for his dangerous sets. The crazy shit that happened when making the abyss. Dude's risking his and other people's lives to make films.

9

TheUmbrellaMan1 Apr 1, 2026 +1

I don't think any other director has taken more risks than Cameron. His entire filmography is filled with risks. First ever $100 million budget to film an action comedy? They said the film would tank. First ever $200 million budget to make a disaster epic? They said the film would tank. $250 million to make a 3D movie with blue CGI aliens? They said the film would tank. People can hate Cameron for being difficult to work with but it's an undisputed fact that the man is a risk taker and pushes the envelope of filmmaking with every movie he puts out.

1

ZachPruckowski Apr 1, 2026 +2

Definitely not plot-wise. But all of the technical stuff they're doing, plus having most of the main characters be non-human, is pretty risky. Not to mention that they're spending huge sums of money over the space of years before they see any return on investment. It's a risk.

2

stringohbean Mar 31, 2026 +4

The entire production development is a risk. They spent millions on R&D to create technology that didn’t exist yet. How is that not a risk?

4

ImitatingADog Apr 1, 2026 +2

Nobody does or can do a James Cameron does. Everything about these movies has been a risk from the start and they’ve paid off. People underrate some of the weird shit he’s slipped into these films, especially the third one. And don’t come at me with the boring and trite comparisons to the two other movies that people (Listnookors) compare it to because of superficial plot similarities. It’s boring and hack!

2

enviropsych Apr 1, 2026 +1

Avatar managed to get the audience to cheer for the death of American Jarheads. Black Panther is about how the way to fix global imperialism is to partner with the CIA and fund a charter school. One movie series took risks, the other avoided them. The second movie managed to get you to cheer for the destruction of the American imperial machine for what they did to a whale. Not even a whale...a whale-like alien thing. James Cameron basically invented modern mo-cap for Avatar. It was a gamble...a risk...that paid off. Compare that to Marvel's continual degradation of CGI from movie to movie ever since Endgame.

1

Ok-Walk-8040 Apr 1, 2026 +1

The risk he was referring to is casting Sam Worthington.

1

Frostsorrow Mar 31, 2026 +3

More like not all directors are given a blank cheque because of what they've made in the past.

3

Sliver80 Apr 1, 2026 +4

It's not really "taking risks" when the last two movies have basically been the same story.

4

WalterPecky Mar 31, 2026 +10

We lost about 20 years of Cameron potential to this garbage series.

10

ImitatingADog Apr 1, 2026 +10

It’s not a “waste” if it’s what he wants to do. If the art is meaningful to the artist than it’s not a waste even if you don’t like it personally.

10

zerg1980 Mar 31, 2026 +8

What makes you think Cameron would have made better movies if he wasn’t making Avatar? Any other hypothetical projects would probably be about the same level of quality. I just think he doesn’t have another T2 in him. That’s not a personal failing — very few filmmakers have ever made a movie that good.

8

Big-Blacksmith544 Apr 1, 2026 +5

Storytelling-wise, yes these movies are aggressively mediocre. But this series is basically VFX Skunkworks and is basically just a platform to push VFX technology further.

5

WalterPecky Apr 1, 2026 -3

Well then why does Jurassic Park still look better than most movies today. I could see if these movies had Jurassic Park level changes to the VFX industry, but they don't IMO

-3

DawnSignals Apr 1, 2026 +1

Not only that, the third film would have seen less diminishing returns if Cameron only realized that the strength of a franchise can't just rely solely on visual appeal the films' narrative shortcomings will only become more apparent as their visual novelty diminishes, assuming they even make more

1

ColonelQuaraitch Apr 1, 2026 +1

This is the stupidest f****** opinion.

1

SteakandTrach Apr 1, 2026 +2

You know, I like the Avatar movies. From a purely action movie standpoint they are fun, disposable, light entertainment with a big budget. I look forward to them. My frustration with the last film is that it barely moved the needle from a story-telling perspective. I was really kind of hoping they would mix it up a bit and expand the story. Like was I the only one kind of hoping Sully got actually whisked away off planet as intended and it ends with him on his way to Earth to be put on trial for his ‘crimes’? I just think that would have been a much more interesting set-up for a next film. It would be interesting to see what Earth is like in the Avatar universe. We get hints right “There’s no green left”. “They killed their mother.” Alternate back and forth between Sully’s kids on Pandora while he does a Mr. Deeds goes to Washington thing and tries to flip the script and put the company on trial at least in the public eye. What if Quaritch ends up “going native” like Sully did? Maybe not in the same way, but in his crude pragmatic way? That could be interesting. He could still be the antagonist, skunking up the works while the Earth government and Pandora are trying to come to some kind of tentative recognition of sovereignty? I dunno, I’m just spitballing, but I want to see the bigger story of Pandora actually go somewhere. See, but that’s me, doing exactly what the article is saying they don’t have to deal with! The clamoring fan demanding input into the process. I’m completely aware of my own hypocrisy.

2

Batmankoff Apr 1, 2026 +1

And still it’s the most derivative ho-hum film series. What’s the excuse then?

1

sk4v3n Apr 1, 2026 +1

Ok, so when will you, hmm … you know… take those risks?

1

Minimum-Can2224 Apr 1, 2026 +1

Could've fooled me

1

Puzzleheaded_Ad_8553 Apr 1, 2026 +1

Good April Fool’s, Avatar taking risks with a story about an American family and Pocahontas…

1

Foreign-Collar8845 Apr 1, 2026 +1

I guess next one will be in an icy environment

1

ApathyMoose Apr 1, 2026 +2

I had guessed dessert, but ice world sounds plausible too. Gotta built the full Captain Planet crew before Avatar Assembles as the final movie.

2

Foreign-Collar8845 Apr 1, 2026 +1

Dessert sounds a “riskier” choice than mine. :)

1

bluehawk232 Mar 31, 2026 +1

Risk for the third one was basically remaking the third act of part two

1

JigglesTheBiggles Mar 31, 2026

Marvel jumped the shark a while ago.

0

Christopher_Nolan- Apr 1, 2026

Risks? Did we watch the same movies?

0

Laadklep Mar 31, 2026 -5

Risk taking as in going for cursive bold papyrus for the logo next?

-5

SteakandTrach Apr 1, 2026 +2

Like a thoughtless child, wandering past a garden, yanking leaves along the way!

2

Harmania Apr 1, 2026 -1

“We can do an Orientalism in so many ways that Marvel can’t because if they do it someone will actually report on it instead of just talking about the visuals.”

-1

Background-Sea4590 Apr 1, 2026 +1

Avatar is pretty risk averse though

1

‘Avatar’ Can ‘Take More Risks’ Than Marvel Movies Because Lack of Studio and Fan Pressure, Says Sam Worthington: ‘It’s Not Like We Have to Get Scenes Completed by Today’ or Execs Get Upset

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