Anyone who doesn't want a sequel?

[Dreaming Of Pandora]

Yeah I'm going to try my best to avoid spoilers, or any kind of hint to what the sequel will be like. I knew nothing about Avatar 1 before I saw it in the cinema, I'm going to try to do the same for its sequel.

[Woodsprite]

If anyone does perchance come across any spoilers and wants to stick 'em here, wrapping code tags around the post would hide it from search engines.

[SnowRider]

I am (kind of) conflicted myself, I must confess, to the idea of a sequel or sequels to Avatar.

On the one hand, absolutely yes, I want, no I need a sequel because I'm invested in these characters now and I want to know what happens next.

On the other, Jake's eye-opening at the end of the film is like, the supreme moment of the movie and ends the movie on a high note. It's almost like you don't really need to know what happens next, because anything that happens next will be coming down off that high moment.

That high moment is a special moment, and I don't want it ruined by pulling back the curtain to show us the mundane and pedestrian world that follows, even if it is on Pandora, the next step is they have to move forward, and getting to know Jake and Neytiri as a couple means we get to see them on a human level.

They come down off the pedestal James Cameron put them on at the end of the first film.

They have to come down from that pedestal, and I know in my heart of hearts that journey will not be easy for them, but it will be a transformative journey, one from which they will both grow and become who they are.

I hope they end up in a good place, and I know James Cameron can do it.

The better question is, should he do it? Should he show us "what happens next" or should we just imagine it for ourselves?

I think he can do it and if he does do it, I hope (for Jake and Neytiri's sake) that he does so in a good and engaging way that is worthy of Jake and Neytiri.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that he pulls it off.

[Woodsprite]

Originally Posted by SnowRider

They come down off the pedestal James Cameron put them on at the end of the first film.

They have to come down from that pedestal, and I know in my heart of hearts that journey will not be easy for them, but it will be a transformative journey, one from which they will both grow and become who they are.

I'm reminded of chess champion Bobby Fischer. When he won the championship, he was at the height of his own "pedestal". Then suddenly, he disappeared. No one knew about his whereabouts for years. He had "stepped down" from his pedestal, so to speak.

Then, when a Russian chess champion (forgot his name) came to the top, he declared that if Fischer didn't show himself to be challenged, he would claim the title of World Chess Champion. Surprisingly, Fischer came out of his reclusive hiding, beat the Russian, and retained the title. He was brought back up onto his pedestal.

Then, he promptly disappeared again, stepping down. Bobby Fischer is a very strange person, imo.

With your analogy, you say that Cameron, at the end of Avatar, had the story brought to its high note, and that the only way forward after that is downward. You're right. Avatar 2 will bring the story down a notch when it first begins. But like Bobby Fischer, by the end of the sequel, we'll probably be brought back up to that same high point level presented at the end of the first film... possibly even higher.

Then the process will repeat again with Avatar 3, only the third film will be the last, and the high note it ends on will be the closing of the saga. The masterpiece will be truly complete afterward, and we'll all be more than satisfied.

[Human No More]

Exactly - there is no reason at all that the sequels can't have such an ending, or even a better one...

[James of terra]

Yes I do, with jc he will make a great sequal, but if he does not do it......well you all know what I mean.

[Fosus]

I voted Yes. Ofc I want a sequel

[neytirifanboy]

Of course I want a sequel. There's is always a chance it will be as good or even better than the first one. On the other hand, if it is crap, I will just pretend it didn't happen.

[Human No More]

This is James Cameron we're talking about. He doesn't make crap films, even Titanic was good, despite the premise...
Admittedly though, all his other films ARE better, but then again... look at those films, they are all AMAZING. Including sequels.

[Boba Fett]

I don't see how a sequel can be less good than the first one.

The plot of Avatar was never on focus, it was a simple battle between the archetypal good and archetypal evil, there wasn't any heavy plot twists, any conflicting characters, there wasn't anything, even most of the details were missing. We didn't even learn the stories of anyone but the main characters. It was simply a straightforward journey into a new world. We were shown the beauty of Pandora in through the eyes of Jake who could only love it, then we were shown how people who don't understand it were trying to destroy it, and we got to stop them which made us even close to the people there.

Avatar was lovely because of how powerful the beauty of the world was, and how amazing the journey was. But there was no time left to tell us all the details while we were taking that journey.

There are two options for the second one:
1. Take a second journey through even more of the world. This can't be bad, it would certainly be better than watching the first one over and over. I wouldn't mind it, though some people would claim that would make it a bad film (but they claimed the same thing about the first one... and it's because they simply don't get why it's good).
2. Since we are already familiar with the world, the journey can be secondary, and we can be given a real deep story that gives you the shudders. And if this story is a really good one, the sequel will be "better" than Avatar, though it still wouldn't surpass the awesomeness of your first journey through Pandora. If this story is bad, you can pretend that you're watching another journey. Nothing can really be ruined, because what we know about the people is limited to Jake and Neytiri. We know their story.

Also I personally can't see how could it be bad if we are told the stories of the rest of the people. There's still Grace's story (though that's better suited for a prequel), there's the story of Earth (and the possibility that the bad humans who came for the unobtanium aren't as bad as we saw them), etc. Learning more is always a good thing.

[Sothis]

Originally Posted by SnowRider

That high moment is a special moment, and I don't want it ruined by pulling back the curtain to show us the mundane and pedestrian world that follows, even if it is on Pandora, the next step is they have to move forward, and getting to know Jake and Neytiri as a couple means we get to see them on a human level.

They come down off the pedestal James Cameron put them on at the end of the first film.

I'm a sucker for this kinda stuff, so "pulling back the curtain" wouldn't ruin it for me at all. I want to see the torturous rebuilding process. I want to see the politics and the logistics and the "pedestrian" details of Pandora life. I want to see Jake and Neytiri come down from their honeymoon and work through the baggage that they most definitely have.

As long as it's all packaged in a way with strong narrative punch, I will be happy as a clam.

[Raptor]

Cameron has a good record for sequels so far. Aliens and Terminator 2 are both great films. Although I have to say, Titanic is a bit cheesy on the acting and dialogue side. :/

[Human No More]

Yes, but as I said before, anyone else would have made a far worse film from it