The biggest Box Office hit in history, Avatar, will have its first DVD launch (of many; if the countless “special”, “ultimate”, “Skynet”, and whatever other, editions of Terminator 2 that have been released are anything to go by) next Monday (many websites have already begun posting out pre-ordered copies), the 26th of April, which actually happens to be Earth day, and naturally the DVD/Blu-ray launch has left many people wondering what lies ahead for the future of Pandora, and the avatar franchise.
Never one to completely shun onlookers questions, James Cameron (the creative genius behind Avatar, the Terminator franchise, and Titanic; now the 2nd highest grossing film of all time) has outlined a rough plan of where he sees the franchise heading. That heading will involve not just Pandora, but expand “throughout the Alpha Centauri AB system… not necessarily in the second film, but more towards a third film.”
In the second film, Cameron has stated that he wants to create a wholly new environment for people to gawp at (because the scenery and setting of pandora is what enticed so many fans, and actually caused depression in many viewers who wanted to visit the luscious planet but, for obvious reasons, could not). There will be more of the rainforest seen in the first movie, but Cameron’s focus for the next picture will be on the oceans of Pandora, which he aims to make “equally rich and diverse, and crazy and imaginative.”
Apparently his goal is to do what he did last time, but “at half the price and in half the time”, a goal that he himself believes is “impossible”, however he does think that this one will be shot a good deal quicker than the last, and thinks that if he manages to reduce the cost and the time by only 25% he will have “really accomplished something”
Still not content will only having the top two highest grossing movies of all time under his belt, James Cameron and the people at Fox are apparently planning another theatrical release of the film this coming summer which will add an extra six minutes of footage to the film, and should be ready in August. The re-release however is simply another money grabbing ploy, as the film and studio don’t really need it, but believe that they “left money on the table”, as their IMAX showing were sold out right up until the screens were obligated to ditch Avatar for Alice In Wonderland.
But then the question becomes, how many people will really go back to watch it at the cinema when they can just pop in the DVD or Blu-ray at home and sit back in comfort, without shelling out the cinemas entry cost again? Not that even the blu-ray will be comparable to the 3D cinema experience, and may actually annoy some fans as it’s currently just a bare bones release, with the big multi-disc special edition planned for a release in November; with Fox clearly attempting to squeeze every single penny out of their latest and greatest cash cow.
