Avatar Could Get An Animated Spinoff — But There’s A Catch
Pandora contains a box of stories.
When in casual conversation, talking about “Avatar” often requires elaboration. Do you mean Avatar, the James Cameron sci-fi movie franchise, or Avatar: The Last Airbender, the cherished animated fantasy series? They’re very different stories, and both are still spitting out sequels.
To make matters more confusing, it’s possible that saying “Avatar, the animated series” soon won’t be specific enough. James Cameron has discussed expanding his world to include an anthology series that would tell the lesser-known stories of Pandora and the Na’vi in a brand new way.
James Cameron believes the future of Avatar could lie in animation.
While speaking with Empire Magazine, James Cameron revealed that he’s spoken with Disney, the parent company of Avatar’s distributor, about possibly producing an animated spinoff. “I said, ‘Look, I want to do an animated anthology series that's essentially in the world, but stories that you wouldn't have expected from that world,’” he said. “There might even be an animated feature in there – it might be a feature for streaming, or a theatrical feature.”
Animated anthologies have become popular recently thanks to series like Secret Level, and Disney, in particular, has found success with the model with shows like Star Wars: Visions, Tales of the Jedi, and the upcoming Eyes of Wakanda. There’s also been a boom of animated spinoffs for popular sci-fi franchises like The Boys Presents: Diabolical, Altered Carbon: Resleeved, and Star Trek: Lower Decks, so it certainly seems like there’s a market for Cameron’s idea.
Cameron compares his idea for an Avatar animated spinoff to The Animatrix.
Cameron compares his proposal to a less recent spinoff series: The Animatrix, the animated anthology made by the Wachowskis in 2003 to complement the Matrix. “A good early example is The Animatrix, where they went afield in the Matrix world,” he said. “These are all great examples for how we can add texture and baroque detail to the world of Avatar.” The comparison makes sense, as both franchises are lush works of science fiction that pushed the envelope for live-action visual effects. In animation, the possibilities are even greater.
Cameron wants to use this hypothetical spinoff to explore the “backstory on characters and tangential stuff that happened off-camera within the movies,” citing humanity’s first expedition to Pandora as one potential example of how “You could go anywhere you want.” So far, our view of Pandora has been limited to Jake Sully’s perspective, but a spinoff would change that. It’s still just an idea, and a lot would depend on what animation team Cameron asked to take on the franchise’s distinct visual style, but considering there are Avatar movies planned until 2031, he’s got time to figure it out.
