James Cameron held a feedback session with fans for Avatar: The Way of Water. Written and directed once again by Cameron, the long-awaited Avatar sequel was released in theaters thirteen years after the original and was a comparable hit, grossing over $2 billion and receiving four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Set roughly the same time after the original, Avatar: The Way of Water finds Jake and Neytiri, now with their tight-knit Na’vi family, under threat of the RDA and seeking refuge with the reef-dwelling Metkayina clan.
Days before Avatar: The Way of Water passed Titanic at the box office, Cameron held a feedback session with dedicated fans on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the purpose of the event was to field feedback from fans which would help shape the rest of the Avatar franchise. The fan feedback ranged from plot points, shot selection, frame rates, character development, and emotional reactions. Listen to the entire event in the video embedded above, or read Cameron’s remarks at the top of the event below:
This is something we’ve never done, which is [ask], “How do we make the next film even better for the fans?” Go talk to them, find out what’s on your mind. You guys can be totally honest with us, this is not just about telling us stuff we want to hear. It’s about telling us the stuff we need to work on more.
What James Cameron Can Learn From Fans For Avatar 3
Due to Avatar: The Way of Water‘s box office success, Cameron is now responsible for three of the top five highest-grossing movies of all time. However, as indicated by the recent event, the blockbuster filmmaker is still willing to listen to fan feedback in order to make himself an even better filmmaker, especially since audiences are the ones who have embraced the world of Pandora and made the Avatar franchise the phenomenon that it is. While Avatar: The Way of Water has been received positively by critics and audiences alike, there are still a few areas that Cameron can improve on.
One of the biggest criticisms of Avatar: The Way of Water has been its high frame rate, as parts were filmed at 48 frames per second as opposed to the standard 24, giving the sequel a “video-gamey” look at times. For many, the Avatar sequel’s story still lags behind the stunning visuals, with the narrative being criticized as too standard and predictable. Cameron assures fans that the feedback will make a “measurable improvement” on Avatar 3 and when it releases in theaters on December 20, 2024, the director plans to hold another feedback event.
Source: THR