James Cameron is spilling the beans! ET’s Ashley Crossan spoke with the directing and producing legend at the L.A. premiere for Alita: Battle Angel on Tuesday, where he was asked to discuss the four titles for the upcoming installments in the Avatar franchise, which seemingly leaked last year. “I can neither confirm nor deny,” the Oscar winner first stated, but when pressed, he followed up by stating, “All right, here’s what I’ll tell ya. Those titles are among titles that are in consideration. And no final decisions have been made yet.” The possible titles include Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa, per BBC News. In related Avatar news, the franchise announced on Wednesday that Edie Falco has joined the production, which also includes Kate Winslet, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and more. Later at the premiere, Cameron also offered this cagey explanation of the upcoming Terminator film, for which he is producing and getting a writing credit: “Well, Sarah’s back and Linda Hamilton’s back, so it’s the legit character that you remember, just years later. And she’s back to do battle. That’s all I can say about that.” In August, the first image was released showcasing Hamilton looking armed and ready for action, as Cameron hinted. The shot also includes the film’s other leading ladies, Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes. Both are equally grizzled and ready to hunt killing machines. Cameron also chatted about the decades-spanning journey getting Alita to the big screen and how pivotal director Robert Rodriguez was to the project. “You know, it’s been a long time in development, 20 years. But from the time Robert and I said ‘Let’s do this’ and shook hands on that, it’s only been three years,” he shared. “He’s a shooter. He makes things happen. Built the set on his backlot there in Austin where they shot the film and he just knew what to do… It was great.” Cameron also took the time to explain why Rodriguez, the filmmaking powerhouse behind Sin City and Spy Kids, was the best man to bring beloved manga to multiplexes everywhere. 'Alita: Battle Angel' Trailer: The Next Great Sci-Fi Adventure Is Here! This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors. If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page. 'Alita: Battle Angel' Trailer: The Next Great Sci-Fi Adventure Is Here! “Well, I think for one, we’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve been looking for something to do,” Cameron stated. “Second, he’s able to access a child-like sensibility… and you see that. You get into the film through the eyes of this young girl, she’s an adolescent seeing the world for the first time and he’s able to do that." "He’s got children himself," he continued. "He likes to make kids' movies but he also likes to make the opposite end of the spectrum. Very rough, hard-edged, grown-up kind of action films. So Alita’s kind of right in the middle. It’s got its tough moments, it’s got it’s hard-edged action, but it’s also got this soft kind of wondrous center to it.” The film tells the story of a teenage cyborg (played by Rosa Salazar) who finds herself in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world where she fights a myriad of other battle-ready machines while defending her friends and community. It also stars Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein and more. Alita: Battle Angel arrives in theaters on Feb. 14. Get more breaking film news in the clip below. RELATED CONTENT: 'Alita: Battle Angel' Trailer: The Next Great Sci-Fi Adventure Is Here! Women of Upcoming 'Terminator' Film Revealed in New Photo Watch 'Avengers: Endgame,' 'Captain Marvel' and All of the Super Bowl Movie Trailers Related Gallery<doc-sep>Whether or not the titles actually get used is another story. James Cameron was the fury of the internet last November after BBC News leaked the alleged titles for the director’s four planned “Avatar” sequels. The official titles were, quite frankly, insane sounding: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Avatar: The Seed Bearer,” “Avatar: The Tulkun Rider,” and “Avatar: The Quest for Eywa.” These sequel titles were just rumors at the time, but that didn’t stop moviegoers from mocking Cameron and the idea of a movie called “The Seed Bearer” potentially grossing one billion dollars worldwide. Was the backlash justified? Somewhat, considering Cameron has finally verified the titles. During the press tour for “Alita: Battle Angel,” which Cameron serves as producer on, the director told Entertainment Tonight, “I can neither confirm nor deny — alright, here’s what I’ll tell ya: Those titles are among titles that are in consideration. And no final decisions have been made yet.” So yes, the upcoming 2020 sequel could be titled “Avatar: The Way of Water.” The decision on what each sequel will be called will most likely come down to Cameron and Disney, which now will be distributing the “Avatar” sequels because of the Disney-Fox merger. “The Way of Water” is relatively accessible (and fits with Cameron’s tease that the first sequel will explore the “Avatar” universe’s underwater worlds), but Disney might think releasing a movie called “The Seed Bearer” or “The Quest for Eywa” is too much of a marketing challenge. The “Avatar” sequels will reunite stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana. Cameron’s “Titanic” star Kate Winslet is also joining the franchise as a free-diver who the actress says is “a pivotal character in the ongoing story.” Returning cast members also include CCH Pounder, Stephan Lang, and Sigourney Weaver, who is reportedly playing an entirely new character from the scientist she played in the first “Avatar.” The first sequel, which could be “The Way of Water,” opens in theaters December 18, 2020. The third entry, potentially “The Seed Bearer,” will open the following year, December 17, 2021. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.<doc-sep>
Those Avatar sequel titles that leaked late last year are the real deal. Director James Cameron has confirmed the news, but isn't sure if all of them will make the final cut. After years of waiting, it was just announced that Avatar 2, along with the other three sequels, will begin filming live-action portions in New Zealand starting this spring. Principal photography on the motion capture footage wrapped late last year. Cameron has taken on a massive project that sees him trying to make four movies at once, which is highly ambitious, even for Cameron. In a recent interview, James Cameron confirmed that Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa are real titles for all of the sequels that he has planned. Since the titles were leaked last month, they were met with some skepticism. However, Cameron says that they are all still in the running. "I can neither confirm nor deny... All right, here's what I'll tell ya. Those titles are among titles that are in consideration. And no final decisions have been made yet." Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar: The Seed Bearer, Avatar: The Tulkun Rider, and Avatar: The Quest for Eywa are all real. Obviously, the Avatar 2 title seems the most fitting, with the third sticking out like a sore thumb. It's entirely possible that the titles were leaked on purpose as a way to gauge the public response to them in some grand marketing scheme. But, it's pretty early on in the process for the titles to become public news and as Cameron says, they can all change between now and when they hit theaters. It was revealed earlier this week that Edie Falco has hopped on board the Avatar sequels, which also includes Kate Winslet, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and more. Details are being kept under wraps, unlike the titles for the movies, but fans are looking forward to see if James Cameron can get even close to the box office success of the original movie, which is the highest grossing movie of all time. Cameron is the king of the box office, holding both the number one spot with Avatar and number two spot with Titanic. There is massive pressure to make the Avatar sequels stand up to the original. The box office isn't the only place that James Cameron is competing with himself. The director is also pushing the envelope with the visual effects that were seen as groundbreaking at the time of the first movie's release. However, the director has already helped to create a new way of shooting motion capture under water, which is supposed to be pretty amazing. Hopefully we'll get a look at Avatar 2 in the coming months. You can check out the interview with James Cameron over at Entertainment Tonight.