James Cameron Defends Long Avatar 2 Runtime And Encourages Pee Breaks

Mason Joseph Zimmer
Jake Sully with long dreadlocks and leather outfit flying on animal in Avatar: The Way Of Water
youtube | Disney+

James Cameron Is already anticipating complaints about the length of Avatar 2 and is telling theater guests to go to the bathroom if they can't handle it.

Although the prospect of a sequel to the mega-successful sci-fi epic Avatar seemed unlikely for just about a decade, we finally started to see some hints that it was coming in 2019.

In the years since, we saw some signs that Kate Winslet would be involved and finally found out that the project would be called Avatar: The Way Of Water. Not only that, but we actually had a release date to confirm that yes, this movie is really happening.

And while a recent interview with creator and director James Cameron suggests that this sequel will be over three hours long, he's got some choice words for anyone who has a problem with that.

Although audiences had to wait a long time for a sequel to Avatar, it doesn't look like that will be as true for the next one.

James Cameron looking stern next to life-sized figure of Alita Battle Angel
instagram | @jamescameronofficial

That was confirmed by Cameron himself when he sat down with Empire and shared that Avatar: The Way Of Water and the unnamed third movie were shot back-to-back, which means that the next sequel will likely come out in 2024.

Moreover, these two films are apparently the start of an ambitious four-movie saga and the fourth and fifth installments of the series will be filmed back-to-back as well.

Navi woman with shell head ornament in Avatar: The Way Of Water
youtube | Disney+

However, he went on to tell Empire that there's a possibility he might not direct these final two movies himself.

As he put it, "I’ll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I’m also interested in. Or maybe not. I don’t know."

And while there isn't too much that we know about Avatar 2 at this point, Cameron did share that its runtime will exceed three hours and seemed indignant at the idea of people complaining about that.

Jake Sully with long dreadlocks and leather outfit flying on animal in Avatar: The Way Of Water
youtube | Disney+

In a quote obtained by TMZ, Cameron said, "I can almost write this part of the review. 'The agonizingly long three-hour movie...' It's like, give me a [expletive] break. I've watched my kids sit and do five one-hour episodes in a row."

He added that anyone who makes a habit of binge-watching is in no position to complain about the movie's length.

And if the bladders of viewers are the problem, Cameron won't hold it against anyone for getting up and going to the bathroom.

Jake Sully touching whale from underwater in Avatar: The Way Of Water
youtube | Netflix+

As he put it, "Here's the big social paradigm shift that has to happen: it's okay to get up and go pee."

After all, there's a real possibility that this issue is going to come up during a three-hour movie with as many aquatic themes as its title seems to suggest.

I actually used to go to a theater that added intermissions into long movies to make this easier, but that thought apparently hadn't occurred to Cameron. So I guess the best strategy is to wait for a boring part.

h/t: Empire, TMZ