Movies - TV
James Cameron Promises Avatar: The
Way Of Water's Three-Hour Runtime Serves A Purpose
By ANDREW HOUSMAN
James Cameron’s "Avatar: The Way of Water" will be released in theaters worldwide next month, a full 13 years after the original. Cameron has stated that it will run for 190 minutes, which is 30 minutes longer than the original "Avatar" and this news has drawn a lot of criticism towards Cameron as three hours sitting in a theater is a long time — however, he has his reasons.
Cameron admits that a lack of character development in lieu of world-building and spectacle was one of the weaknesses of "Avatar," saying "the emphasis in the new film is more on character, more on story, more on relationships, more on emotion. We didn't spend as much time on relationship and emotion in the first film as we do in the second film.”
He said that it's a longer film because there will be “more characters and more story to service.” The story will follow Jake Sully and Neytiri as they try to raise a family of five children and deal with all the drama that comes with the heavy responsibility; according to Cameron, it will be more "like how The Sopranos is a family story" than "a family story from Disney."