Director James Cameron explained how relativity fueled his 2009 film “Avatar” and how its sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” tackled different issues than those seen in superhero movies.
Cameron, whose recent epic grossed an estimated $700 million worldwide, told TheWrap Magazine that the problems his characters faced in his original blockbuster films “are not extraordinary” and linked the success of his first film of its relationship between cultures.
“So it was important to me to tell a story that was universal so that everyone could relate to fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters, all of that,” Cameron said.
“It doesn’t matter what culture you belong to, what language group you belong to, what religion you belong to. It’s a universal idea.”
Cameron later in the interview revealed some of the themes covered in the “Waterway” storyline, including teenagers trying to integrate into their community and parents seeing their children “in their different ways” as they navigate life.
He added that the issues seen in the film don’t include “dealing with a guy trying to take over the galaxy.”
“They have real problems. And he’s not giving up on superhero movies,” Cameron said.
“I love them, they are our modern myths and legends, they are the Greek warrior gods. We love all those things, but this is not the film I wanted to make.”
It wasn’t the first time that Cameron, whose 2009 film “Avatar” is the highest-grossing film of all time ahead of “Avengers: Endgame,” has recently taken on superhero movies.
The director, during an October profile in The New York Times, told the paper that he wants to “do what other people don’t do” in their films before referencing the DC and Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
“When I look at these big movies — I’m looking at you, Marvel and DC — it doesn’t matter how old the characters are, they all act like they’re in college,” he said.
“They have relationships, but they don’t really have them. They never close their spurs because of their children. The things that truly ground us and give us strength, love and purpose? These characters don’t experience that, and I think that’s not the way to make movies.”
