In an era where cinematic ventures must rely on streaming numbers to justify their continued existence, James Cameron is braving the waters of a faltering industry centered around content to release the long-anticipated sequel to his Avatar, which, even now, remains the highest-grossing movie of all time.
The fact that the man insisted on developing several sequels concurrently, and is shooting the third film back to back with the second one, makes this even more of a predicament from a financial standpoint. Putting it lightly, there’s a lot of money riding on this movie, but even the legendary Titanic director knows that we’re “in a different world” than when he first conceived these follow-ups.
Speaking of streaming, Netflix and its fans have just had a blast celebrating Stranger Things Day today, and the streamer bestowed fans all around the world with a batch of behind-the-scenes photos that show off the Hawkins folk in all their charismatic glory. Check out all of this and more in today’s sci-fi roundup.
Andor showrunner explains why he shouldn’t direct any episodes
Next to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy is probably the only other treasured creative in the Disney-led Star Wars era. The man not only gave us Rogue One several years ago, but is also back at it with a prequel show that manages to shine where many other Mouse House projects have fallen flat on their face. And it seems that Gilroy’s streak has nothing to do with luck; the man actually knows his craft.
During a recent chat with Collider, he explained why he doesn’t direct any episodes and lets other people with their own creative input have a go at it. You see, it mostly has to do with the fact that it would almost be impossible for Andor to retain its technical quality if Gilroy insisted on doing everything himself. I don’t think anyone would argue with that logic, especially now that they’re singing the show’s praises with every episode.
James Cameron reveals his backup plan if Avatar: The Way of Water fails
Cinema as an enterprise has yet to gain momentum after the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, both from a mental perspective and a practical one. Nowadays, a worrying number of audiences don’t see the point in going all the way to theaters to catch a movie when they could do it from the comfort of their couch instead. Yes, the movie-going experience still has a lot to offer as a social phenomenon, but for a lot of producers, the numbers simply don’t add up anymore.
Which brings us to the peculiar case of Avatar: The Way of Water, a sequel that has been more than ten years in the making. Not only has James Cameron already filmed the third movie, but he has the fourth and fifth all but lined up for shooting. But the director isn’t proceeding with production just yet, because he understands “we’re in a different world now.” As he explained it in a new interview:
“Maybe we’ll remind people what going to the theater is all about. This film definitely does that. The question is: how many people give a sh*t now?”
For the sake of both the franchise and cinema as a whole we pray, a lot of them.
Check out these brand new behind-the-scenes images from Stranger Things season 4
Stranger Things remains one of the biggest television shows in recent memory despite the fact that we have to wait two or three years between every release. Well, with the conclusion of the fourth season, which itself was split into two parts for more convenience, the Netflix crew is looking towards their final stop, a fifth run that will hopefully conclude the narrative in a satisfying way.
That’s still a few years off, so the company has decided to keep its fan base in the loop by offering up regular updates. And when we can’t get that, snippets from the show’s behind-the-scenes process are sure to make up for it and then some. During Today’s Stranger Things Day, the company released several such images that show the cast having a blast shooting the fourth season.
That’s all we have for you today, but make sure to tune back in tomorrow for even more updates from across the sci-fi sphere.