James Cameron Wants to Bring the World of ‘Avatar’ to Animation in New Anthology Series

James Cameron is thinking about expanding the Avatar universe in a whole new direction, and this time, it might be animated. While the Avatar movies are mostly known as big, cinematic blockbusters, Cameron says he’s been talking to Disney about making an animated anthology series set on Pandora.

In a recent interview with Empire magazine for their Avatar: Fire And Ash issue, Cameron explained his idea. “I said, ‘Look, I want to do an animated anthology series that’s essentially in the world, but stories that you wouldn’t have expected from that world’,” he said.

The idea is still early in development, but he added that it could even include a full animated movie someday. “It might be a feature for streaming, or a theatrical feature,” he said.

Cameron pointed to The Animatrix as inspiration, a collection of animated stories that explored different parts of The Matrix universe. He also mentioned other animated projects like Love, Death + Robots and Secret Level, which have done something similar on streaming platforms. He thinks Avatar is perfect for this kind of format because there’s so much more of the world to show beyond the main films.

“These are all great examples for how we can add texture and baroque detail to the world of Avatar,” he said. The stories wouldn’t just be spin-offs, they’d go deeper into the lore. “Backstory on characters and tangential stuff that happened off-camera within the movies. Who first landed on Pandora? The first expedition. You could go anywhere you want.”

Right now, the project is still in its early stages. Cameron admitted, “We haven’t done much with that yet,” and said they’re still working on gathering ideas. “We’re still gathering our stories and that sort of thing, and I’ve got to find the boutique filmmakers, the animators, that want to do it.”

So far, Avatar has expanded into other areas like video games, theme parks, and of course, multiple film sequels. But an animated series would open the door for even more storytelling, without the long wait between movies. It could also show parts of Pandora and its history that fans haven’t seen before.

With Avatar: Fire and Ash hitting theaters in December 2025, and more sequels on the way, the animated idea might take some time. But Cameron seems excited about the possibilities. If it happens, it could offer fans a different way to explore the world of Avatar, one that doesn’t always need big effects and huge budgets to feel epic. Sometimes, a great story and beautiful animation can do the job just as well.

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