Draft:Avatar 5

Avatar 5 is an upcoming American epic science fiction film co-written, co-edited, co-produced and directed by James Cameron. Distributed by 20th Century Studios, it will be the sequel to the upcoming Avatar 4 (2029) and the fifth installment in the Avatar franchise. It will star Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña, among others from the original cast, reprising their roles. The screenplay is written by James Cameron and Shane Salerno.

Cameron, who had stated in 2006 that he would like to make sequels to Avatar (2009) if it was successful, announced the fourth and fifth films in late 2010.

The film's theatrical release has been subject to five delays, with the latest occurring on June 13, 2023; it is scheduled for release on December 19, 2031.

Na'vi

 * Sam Worthington as Jake Sully
 * Zoe Saldaña as Neytiri
 * Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch
 * Sigourney Weaver as Kiri

Humans

 * Matt Gerald as Corporal Lyle Wainfleet
 * Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel
 * David Thewlis

Development
On July 31, 2017, it was announced that the New Zealand-based visual effects studio Weta Digital had commenced work on the Avatar (2009) sequels.

Casting
In August 2017, Matt Gerald had officially signed on to portray his first film's role Corporal Lyle Wainfleet in all upcoming sequels. In August 2017, in an interview with Empire, Cameron revealed that Stephen Lang would not only be returning in all four sequels but he would also be the main villain in all four films. On January 25, 2018, Dileep Rao was confirmed to return as Dr. Max Patel.

Filming
Filming on all four sequels was supposed to begin simultaneously on September 25, 2017, in Manhattan Beach, California, but Cameron revealed that the filming on 4 and 5 would begin after post-production wrapped on the first two sequels.

Potential cancellation
Despite the plans for Avatar 5, Cameron commented that the film can be cancelled along with Avatar 4 if Avatar: The Way of Water underperforms upon its release on December 16, 2022, hence why he has plans to wrap up the saga's story in Avatar 3 as a precaution, as the second film's potential failure would mean for Cameron to be forced to make just one more sequel. In January 2023, Cameron confirmed that, with Avatar: The Way of Water being profitable, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 will be produced.

Music
In August 2021, Landau announced that Simon Franglen would compose the score for the Avatar sequels.

Release
Avatar 5 is scheduled to be released on December 19, 2031, by 20th Century Studios. Like its predecessors, the film was subject to multiple delays (this time it consisted of five delays) since the crew took more time on the writing, pre-production and visual effects process. It was originally scheduled to be released in December 2023, but in April 2017, a new release date of December 19, 2025 was announced. Following the announcement of the three upcoming Star Wars films, in May 2019, the sequels' release dates were pushed back to two years, with Avatar 5, being scheduled to be released on December 17, 2027. The release date was again deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in August 2020, a new release of December 22, 2028 was announced. Another delay was announced on June 13, 2023, this time due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, pushing the film to December 19, 2031. Avatar 5 and its forthcoming sequels will be released in Dolby Vision.

Sequels
In 2022, James Cameron revealed that he has plans for a potential sixth and seventh films and would make them if there was demand. However, Cameron also noted that he would be 89 years old by the time an Avatar 6 and Avatar 7 could be released, and he is "not going to be able to make Avatar movies indefinitely, the amount of energy required".