Director laments glut of superhero films
Filmmaker James Cameron, fed up with Marvel superhero movies, is counting on cinema-goers to experience “Avenger fatigue.” The Oscar-winning director admits he is weary of the sheer volume of comic-book adaptations currently being released — with the majority revolving around male egos.
“I’m hoping we’re going to start getting Avenger fatigue,” Cameron said at a media event to promote his new documentary show, AMC Visionaries: James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction.
“Not that I don’t love the movies. It’s just, come on, guys, there are other stories to tell besides, you know, hypogonadal males without families doing death-defying things for two hours and wrecking cities in the process,” he said.
Cameron, who recently drew criticism for slamming Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman for focusing on “an objectified icon,” would instead prefer to see movies with more depth, just like his four planned Avatar sequels, which he compares to the iconic Godfather trilogy.
“I found myself as a father of five, starting to think about what would an Avatar story be like if it was a family drama, if it was The Godfather,” said Cameron, 63. “Obviously very different genre, but I got intrigued by that idea. So, that’s really what it is. It’s a generational family saga.”
He reveals the forthcoming movies are “very different” from the first Avatar film.
“Now, it’s the same type of setting, and there’s the same respect for the shock of the new, that we want to show you things that not only you haven’t seen, but haven’t imagined. I think that’s absolutely critical to it. But the story’s very different,” he said.
“It’s a continuation of the same characters, but what happens when warriors that are willing to go on suicide charges, and leap off cliffs onto the back of big orange toruks (airborne predatory animals), what happens when they grow up and have their own kids? It becomes a very different story.
“Now the kids are the risk-takers and the change-makers. So, it’s interesting, but it makes sense to me. Everybody ’s either a parent, or they had parents at the very least, and if you look at the big successful franchises now, they’re pretty much uninterested in that.”
Avatar 2 is scheduled for release in December 2020.