James Cameron recently revealed that the upcoming third installment in his Avatar franchise will actually be longer than 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water.

The director explained that an overflow of ideas during production led to the decision to shift part of the story to the next film.

In a recent sitdown with Empire, Cameron said he and his writers developed too much material for "The Way of Water", and when production began, had to move some of the story from that movie into its sequel, "Fire and Ash."

"In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2," Cameron said. "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.’” For that reason, Cameron teased, “movie 3 will actually be a little bit longer than movie 2."

Cameron first introduced the title Fire and Ash at D23 in August 2024. While no footage was shown at the time, concept art offered glimpses of new elements, including massive airships, Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) soaring on a banshee, and a preview of the Ash People, a new Na’vi tribe seen gathered around a fire pit.

"You’ll see a lot more Pandora that you never saw before," Cameron said during the event. "It’s an intense adventure and a spectacle, but it’s also got very high emotional stakes."

Returning cast members include Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Britain Dalton, Jack Champion, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Bailey Bass, Joel David Moore, Edie Falco, and Dileep Rao. The film will also introduce Oona Chaplin as the leader of the Ash People and David Thewlis in an undisclosed role.

Source: Press Release