20th Century StudiosJames Cameron has been talking up his forthcoming sci-fi sequel Avatar: Fire and Ash, revealing what to expect from the new movie‘s runtime.
James Cameron’s first movie – Piranha II: The Spawning – clocked in at 1 hour and 34 minutes, with a Director’s Cut dropping that figure down to 1 hour and 24 minutes. But since then, his movies have become longer, and longer.
Terminator 2 was 2 hours and 17 minutes, The Abyss 2 hours and 20 minutes, and Titanic a butt-numbing 3 hours and 15 minutes.
Which brings us to the epic Avatar movies, which have equally epic runtimes, and the upcoming third film in the franchise is no different.
Avatar 3 is longer than Avatar 2
20th Century StudiosIn an interview with Empire, James Cameron says that “movie three will actually be a little bit longer than movie two.” Which means it will also be longer than movie one, as this is how they currently breakdown:
- Avatar – 2 hours and 42 minutes
- Avatar: The Way of Water – 3 hours and 12 minutes
- Avatar: Fire and Ash – more than 192 minutes
That potentially makes Avatar 3 the longest movie of Cameron’s career, but that’s down to having so much story to tell. “In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie two,” Cameron explains. “The [film] was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character. So I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to split it.’”
Screenwriter Amanda Silver concurs, adding: “The characters needed to breathe. These movies are a lot more than just propulsive plot and gorgeous spectacle. I mean, these are real characters.”
For more from Pandora, here’s why Fire and Ash’s title is a big tease for Avatar 4 and 5, plus how Avatar 3 will prove that James Cameron is still king of the world. Alternatively, check out our list of the best sci-fi movies.
