The most successful movie of all time in worldwide box office receipts may already be a relic of a bygone era. “Avatar” director James Cameron announced Thursday that the franchise will be expanded to include four sequels, up from the three originally announced, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, the franchise will have its work cut out for it if it hopes to catch up with the times.
“After all, although ‘Avatar’ was released less than a decade ago — it debuted on Dec. 18, 2009 — it is almost the product of a different era,” THR reports. “‘Avatar’ filled a gap for movie audiences that not only doesn’t exist anymore, but is almost overstuffed these days with the prospect of a new ‘Star Wars’ movie ever single year, in addition to the possibility of a ‘Star Trek,’ or some other sci-fi property telling stories of intergalactic conflicts turning the human condition into colorful metaphor.”
The report also notes that “Avatar” belongs to an era before the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “With seemingly every studio planning its own ‘cinematic universe’ in response to Marvel’s success, the idea of a movie [franchise] predating the Mighty Marvel Era seems positively archaic,” the report adds.
We encourage readers to click on the link near the top of this story to read the full report.
I have to disagree. Science Fiction fans don’t care how many sci-fi movies come out so long as they’re good movies. I would love to go to the theater and see 52 sci-fi and super-hero movies a year that are worth watching, unlike the latest Fantastic Four. We sci-fi also don’t care if a movie is 3 hours long if it’s a good 3 hours. As far as being “with the times”, sci-fi fans still watch the 1950’s version of The Day The Earth Stood Still, and that’s in black and white. So please, if you’re going to report on science fiction, at least have someone who truly appreciates the genre to write the story. Oh, and no, it’s not too late. Not by a long shot.