Washington [US], March 9 (ANI): Filmmaker James Cameron recently revealed that the upcoming third installment in his Avatar franchise will actually be longer than 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water, which ran three hours and 12 minutes long, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

'In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2,' said Cameron, adding, 'The film was moving like a bullet train, and we weren't drilling down enough on character. So I said, 'Guys, we've got to split it.''

The director added, 'Movie 3 will actually be a little bit longer than movie 2,' as per the outlet.

For him, however, the film's length doesn't matter, as the first two films are some of the biggest theatrical releases to date. 2009's Avatar holds the spot as the highest-grossing film of all time, while The Way of Water has the record for third.

Amanda Silver, who co-wrote the Fire and Ash script with Cameron and Rick Jaffa, shared that The Way of Water and Fire and Ash are separate films because 'the characters needed to breathe,' as per the outlet.

'These movies are a lot more than just propulsive plot and gorgeous spectacle,' she added. 'I mean, these are real characters.' Sam Worthington is set to return as Jake Sully, while Zoe Saldana will reprise her role as Neytiri in the third film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cameron didn't open up about the storyline for 'Fire and Ash'; he said last year, 'It's really cool. You're going to love it.'

He shared his plans to direct the fourth and fifth installments, 'Absolutely. I mean, they're going to have to stop me. I got plenty of energy and love doing what I'm doing. Why would I not? And they're written, by the way. I just reread both of them about a month ago. They're cracking stories. They've got to get made. Look, if I get hit by a bus and I'm in an iron lung, somebody else is going to do it.'

'Fire and Ash' is currently slated to hit theaters on December 19, 2025. 'Avatar 4' and 'Avatar 5' are set for December 21, 2029, and December 19, 2031, respectively, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI)