The iconic filmmaker also discussed the upcoming 'Terminator' sequel!
James Cameron is spilling the beans!
ET’s Ashley Crossan spoke with the directing and producing legend at the L.A. premiere for Alita: Battle Angel on Tuesday, where he was asked to discuss the four titles for the upcoming installments in the Avatar franchise, which seemingly leaked last year.
“I can neither confirm nor deny,” the Oscar winner first stated, but when pressed, he followed up by stating, “All right, here’s what I’ll tell ya. Those titles are among titles that are in consideration. And no final decisions have been made yet.”
The possible titles include Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa, per BBC News.
In related Avatar news, the franchise announced on Wednesday that Edie Falco has joined the production, which also includes Kate Winslet, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and more.
Later at the premiere, Cameron also offered this cagey explanation of the upcoming Terminator film, for which he is producing and getting a writing credit: “Well, Sarah’s back and Linda Hamilton’s back, so it’s the legit character that you remember, just years later. And she’s back to do battle. That’s all I can say about that.”
In August, the first image was released showcasing Hamilton looking armed and ready for action, as Cameron hinted. The shot also includes the film’s other leading ladies, Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes. Both are equally grizzled and ready to hunt killing machines.
Cameron also chatted about the decades-spanning journey getting Alita to the big screen and how pivotal director Robert Rodriguez was to the project.
“You know, it’s been a long time in development, 20 years. But from the time Robert and I said ‘Let’s do this’ and shook hands on that, it’s only been three years,” he shared. “He’s a shooter. He makes things happen. Built the set on his backlot there in Austin where they shot the film and he just knew what to do… It was great.”
Cameron also took the time to explain why Rodriguez, the filmmaking powerhouse behind Sin City and Spy Kids, was the best man to bring beloved manga to multiplexes everywhere.
“Well, I think for one, we’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve been looking for something to do,” Cameron stated. “Second, he’s able to access a child-like sensibility… and you see that. You get into the film through the eyes of this young girl, she’s an adolescent seeing the world for the first time and he’s able to do that."
"He’s got children himself," he continued. "He likes to make kids' movies but he also likes to make the opposite end of the spectrum. Very rough, hard-edged, grown-up kind of action films. So Alita’s kind of right in the middle. It’s got its tough moments, it’s got it’s hard-edged action, but it’s also got this soft kind of wondrous center to it.”
The film tells the story of a teenage cyborg (played by Rosa Salazar) who finds herself in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world where she fights a myriad of other battle-ready machines while defending her friends and community.
It also stars Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein and more.
Alita: Battle Angel arrives in theaters on Feb. 14.
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