Sam Worthington, star of the Avatar franchise, stated that the series enjoys greater creative freedom than Marvel films due to a lack of studio and fan pressures. He described the production as feeling like an independent movie. The comments came in a recent interview with The Independent.
Sam Worthington told The Independent that the Avatar movies operate without the external pressures faced by other Hollywood franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 'We’re unlike Marvel movies, in the sense of… it feels like an independent movie when we make it,' Worthington said. 'We don’t have outside pressures, or expectations from the press, or the studio, or the community. It doesn’t affect what we do. And that’s why we can take more risks.' He added that the team simply plays and creates without tight deadlines upsetting studio executives, portraying director James Cameron as a painter rather than a tyrant on set. The franchise has grossed $6.7 billion worldwide, with the 2009 original as the highest-grossing film ever and 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water ranking third. The latest entry, Avatar: Fire & Ash, released in December and earned $1.4 billion despite a drop from the prior film. Cameron has expressed uncertainty about future installments. Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 are scheduled for December 21, 2029, and December 19, 2031, but he told Entertainment Weekly that the saga's continuation depends on proving the business case each time. 'I don’t know if the saga goes beyond this point. I hope it does,' Cameron said. In a Variety interview, he noted the challenging theatrical market but pointed to recent successes like Wicked: For Good and Zootopia 2.