Director James Cameron gave an interview to Aktera Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of the promotion of the Ecological Austrian Summit. The "Avatar" franchise has a clearly pronounced environmental component, so it is not surprising that it came about it. During the interview, the director told how things are concluded with the shooting "Avatars":
COVID-19 influenced us, as well as everyone else. We lost about four and a half months. As a result, I had to postpone the premiere of "Avatar 2" for a year, until December 2022. But this does not mean that I have an extra year work on the film. As soon as work is completed on Avatar 2, we will immediately take on "Avatar 3". Now we are in New Zealand and continue to shoot. We have 100% finished shooting "Avatar 2" and about 95% - "Avatar 3". So we were very lucky that many years ago as a production site we chose New Zealand.
- avatar (@Officialavatar) September 10, 2020
Cameron also complained that nothing could talk about the plot of new films, but suggested Schwarzenegger to come to the shooting platform. At a personal meeting, he is ready to reveal a part of the secrets of new films.
The total budget of the four new films "Avatar" is, by rumors, about one billion dollars. After the release of the second part, the rest is planned to be released every two years. The third "avatar" should go out in 2024, the fourth - in 2026, and Avatar 5 - in 2028.