Cameron denies rumor: There is no so-called 9-hour version of "Avatar 3"

"Avatar" director James Cameron personally refuted the rumor circulating on the Internet that he had a 9-hour rough cut of "Avatar 3". In an interview with the media, Cameron took the initiative to clarify the rumor, saying that it originated from a simple misunderstanding.

"There is no 9-hour rough cut of Avatar 3," Cameron said. "If I really made a 9-hour rough cut, I would definitely rather bite my tongue and commit suicide. The 9 hours of material I mentioned before refers to the total length of Avatar 3, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5, which means each movie is about 3 hours long."

Earlier reports said that Cameron submitted a 9-hour edit of Avatar 3, and Disney executives were considering releasing it on the Disney+ platform as a miniseries after its theatrical release. This speculation fermented online, eventually prompting Cameron to personally come out to refute the rumor.

The first two films in the "Avatar" series, 2009's "Avatar" and 2022's "Avatar: The Way of Water", ranked 1st and 3rd on the box office charts of all time respectively. Considering this successful business model, it makes sense for Disney to continue to use the theatrical screening method.

In the interview, Cameron also revealed the progress of "Avatar 4", and he has filmed about 95% of the clips. Cameron introduced his passion for the series and what made him return to this universe after many years.

“It’s not just the love for the material and the world we’ve created so far, and the world we’re continuing to build,” he said. “It’s the people we’re working with. The most important thing that drew me back to Avatar was the sense of family and mutual respect that we established on the first movie. Now, we’re like we’re in season four of some kind of TV show, and everybody’s got each other’s backs, there’s no bickering, there’s no infighting. Everybody just loves what they’re doing.”

The third film is due to be released in 2025. In terms of games, Ubisoft's Avatar: Pandora's Frontier is currently available on consoles and PC.