James Cameron; Jake Sully in Avatar: The Way of Water.Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty; 20th Century Studios
James Cameronis beginning to teaseAvatarfans about the lengthy — and emotional —Avatar: Fire and Ash.
On top of the movie’s lengthy runtime, Cameron also said that his wifeSuzy Amis Cameronwatched “the whole thing from end to end” for the first time on Dec. 22 and walked away feeling significantly emotionally moved.
“She bawled for four hours," he said of Suzy’s reaction to the movie. “She kept trying to get her s— back together so she could tell me specific reactions, and then she’d just tear up and start crying again. Finally, I’m like, ‘Honey, I’ve got to go to bed. Sorry, we’ll talk about it some other time.' "
James Cameron and Joel David on the set of of Avatar: The Way of Water.Mark Fellman/20th Century Studios
Cameron and Suzy first met on the set of his 1997 movieTitanic, which Suzy appeared in as an actor playing the role of Lizzy Calvert. Cameron was in a relationship withLinda Hamiltonat the time; they married in 1997 andfiled for divorcein 1999, and Cameron and Suzy married shortly afterward in 2000. The pair share three children: Claire, Quinn and Elizabeth.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“She’s a pretty good bellwether,” Cameron added of Suzy’s film taste. “She called the ball onTitanicandAvatarandAvatar 2. So I trust her heart on it.”
Suzy Amis Cameron and James Cameron on Jan. 15, 2023.Kevin Winter/Getty
Kevin Winter/Getty
Cameron famously has details worked out forAvatar 4andAvatar 5, which he toldEmpirehe has been working on with screenwriters Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno. Some ofFire and Ash’s story was originally planned for inclusion in 2022’sThe Way of Water, Cameron said.
“In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2,” he 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.’ ”
Avatar: Fire and Ashwill release in theaters Dec. 19. The franchise’s fourth installment is currently scheduled for release in December 2029, whileAvatar 5is currently expected to release in December 2031.
source: people.com