James Cameron is a director so ensconced in film culture that you need only say his name and his legacy is immediately conjured in our collective minds. We think of Terminators, of Aliens, of trips to Pandora and to the bottom of the sea. When it was announced that he'd be doing sequels to 'Avatar,' there were plenty of excited fans. That excitement has been sullied however by remarks Cameron made in a recent interview with the New York Times. Apparently, the legendary director is finished making (in every sense of that word) movies that don't rhyme with Shmavatar. Here's what he said...

"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. And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the 'Avatar' landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way."

So yeah, looks like the King of the World has found his definitive kingdom and isn't interested in leaving it ever again. To be fair, he does go on to say that he also still wants to make his documentaries, but apparently in the realm of narrative fiction, there is only 'Avatar' for Jimmy henceforth. I will freely admit that while I was in awe of the spectacle of 'Avatar,' I found its story to be less-than-stellar and its characters pretty one-dimensional. I'm therefore a bit distressed that we won't be getting any more original films from him, in either a director or producer capacity. Moreover, I hardly think 'Avatar' needs two sequels let alone the third at which he hints. Then again, prior to 'Avatar' Cameron hadn't made a narrative film since 'Titanic' in 1997, so it's not as if he was being very prolific prior to this announcement. Yet it's still a shame to conceive that he really is done making anything else. And what about the projects he's rumored to already have in the works? Does this mean no 'Battle Angel' after all?

What do you guys think of Cameron's announcement? Are you excited for the 'Avatar' sequels? Would you prefer to see him work in other universes?

Source: NY Times