After Avatar: Ways of Water was released in theaters on December 16, 2022, the movie gained popularity not only for its beautiful camera work, but also for the anticipation for the third Avatar movie.

The director of both Avatar films, James Cameron, has talked about five total films for the Avatar series, and has planned release dates along the decade.

“Each movie is going to introduce audiences to new clans, new cultures on Pandora,” Landau said.

“Once we introduce a character, they stay a part of the ongoing evolution. We just add to it. So you can expect to see the Metkayina that you meet in this movie in subsequent movies. There are other clans that we’ll introduce in movie 3 that you’ll see in movie 4 and so on and so forth.”

With the filming for the movies done, the movies just need to wait in the postproduction part of the films before release. Cameron also pointed out how the filming for the rest of the movies was done first to avoid a “Stranger Things” event as he called it.

“I love Stranger Things, but you get the Stranger Things effect where they’re supposed to still be in high school, and they look like they’re 27,” Cameron said.

“In some scenes, I’m 14, and then in the next scene, I’m 16. So I’m like, ‘Wait a second, I look slightly more pudgy.’ And then in another scene, I’m 2 inches taller with abs. It’s a little weird sometimes.”

The third movie is on track to come out in December 2024 and is titled Avatar: The Seed Bearer. Not much is known about this movie plot wise, but Cameron’s collaborators have told others to expect more underwater action, more than the previous film, along with meeting evil fire Na’vi.

The fourth movie, titled Avatar: The Tulkan Rider, is so far coming out in December 2026, sticking to a one Avatar movie every two years. Since Tulkan isn’t a word that has been used yet in the films seen so far, little to no information is known about this film, other than the actor’s part is finished.

The fifth movie isn’t necessarily a done deal, according to producer Jon Landau, and the movie’s release will be based on how Avatar: The Way of Water does with the box office. So far, it is rumored that the movie will come out in 2028 and is titled Avatar: The Quest for Eywa. According to Cameron’s recent comments, the film plans to be focused on Earth instead of Pandora, but that is just a theory. Again, this movie isn’t set in stone to conclude the Avatar movies, so the results of the films will determine how many Avatar films there will be.

The first Avatar movie came out in 2009 and became number one in the top grossest films list. With the long-anticipated sequel releasing just last month, the Avatar films have gained popularity once again, and tend to stay popular and aware for a long time to come.