We know that long runtimes, as much as three hours, or a little more, aren't really a problem as long as the filmmakers can effectively tell their stories in a way that holds audiences' attention and leaves them wanting more. James Cameron's first two Avatar films and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer are perfect examples.
While we anticipate the third instalment of Avatar, titled 'Fire and Ash', the maverick blockbuster director has shared that it's the longest of the franchise so far, meaning it will go beyond the 3 hours 12 minutes runtime of the second film, The Way of Water.
Talking to Empire magazine, Cameron said the longer runtime will help him nail some character aspects which he couldn't fully explore previously. “In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into Act One of Movie 2. The Way of Water, in retrospect, was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character. So I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to split it.’”
Slated for release on December 19, Avatar: Fire and Ash will see the return of Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Kate Winslet and Sigourney Weaver, among others.
Cameron has previously let his zero tolerance level for people who complain about long runtimes, especially in this age of binge-watching. In an earlier interview with Empire, Cameron questioned why people complain about length when they don't have a problem with sitting and binge-watching shows for eight hours."
"It's like, give me a f-----g break. I've watched my kids sit and do five one-hour episodes in a row. Here's the big social paradigm shift that has to happen: It's okay to get up and go pee," he added.
