Director James Cameron is putting the behemoth that is the Avatar franchise to one side as he takes on a new job.
Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third instalment, is ‘winding down’ production with a trailer expected soon as the film is due out later this year.
Instead of starting on the fourth film – due out in 2029 – Cameron has revealed he’s going to be adapting a new novel called The Devils.
In a statement on social media, the 70-year-old filmmaker has confirmed his production company Lightstorm Entertainment acquired the rights to author Joe Abercrombie’s book.
Cameron and Abercrombie will be co-writing the script together for the fantasy story which was released just last month and became an instant bestseller.
‘I’ve loved Joe’s writing for years, cherishing each new read, throughout the epic cycle of the First Law books, especially Best Served Cold (LOVE IT!), and the ‘Age of Madness’ trilogy,’ the Titanic legend said.
He continued: ‘But the freshness of the world and the characters in ‘The Devils’ finally got me off my butt to buy one of his books and partner with him to bring it to the screen.
‘I can’t wait to dig into this as I wind down on Avatar: Fire and Ash. It will be a joyful new challenge for me to bring these indelible characters to life.’
The Devils focuses on a special force of monsters tasked to save Europe from flesh-eating elves – with a plot like that, we’re not surprised the esteemed director rushed to get involved.
Praising the filmmaker, Abercrombie said: ‘I can’t think of anyone better to bring this weird and wonderful monster of a book to the screen.’
With only four years to go before the as-yet-untitled Avatar 4, it’s unclear if Cameron is planning to be hands-on for The Devils’ entire production.
If he wasn’t busy enough, he’s also directing another novel adaptation; The Last Train From Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino.
There’s also the illusive adaptation of Taylor Stevens’ novel The Informationist that Lightstorm Entertainment purchased the rights to in 2012.
Dedicated film fans will remember that at the time Cameron said he’d direct it once Avatar was completed – we won’t hold our breath on that one.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is slated for a December 2025 release with the sequels following in 2029 and 2031 respectively.
The previous instalment, Way of the Water, clocked in at three hours and 12 minutes but Cameron is promising that the follow-up will be even longer.
He told Empire magazine: ‘In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2. 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.” Movie 3 will actually be a little bit longer than movie 2.’
Script co-writer Amanda Silver seconded this feeling saying ‘the characters needed to breathe.’
She said: ‘These movies are a lot more than just propulsive plot and gorgeous spectacle. I mean, these are real characters.’
Cameron is feeling ‘pretty good’ about this next Avatar, having allowed a handful of people to screen the film already.
He previously told Stuff: ‘I’ve shown it to a few selected people and the feedback has been … it’s definitely the most emotional and maybe the best of the three so far.
‘We’ll find out, you know, but I feel pretty good about it.’
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