James Cameron has confirmed that the third part of the fantasy saga “Avatar: Fire and Ash” will be the longest in the entire franchise, surpassing even the impressive running time of “Avatar 2”. Let us remind that “The Way of Water” has already surprised viewers with its duration of 3 hours and 12 minutes, but the creator of the series is preparing an even larger spectacle, championat.com reports.

In a statement, the legendary director revealed the reasons for the film's extended length. According to Cameron, the creative team wanted to include so many concepts in the previous installment that it resulted in the characters being underdeveloped.

"In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas for the first half of “Avatar 2”. We moved through them like a train and didn't flesh out the characters enough. And while “The Path of Water” was an epic in its own right, the third film will be a little longer," the director explained.

Fans of the Pandora universe will be able to dive into a new large-scale adventure on December 19 of this year. As for the future of the franchise, the fourth part is scheduled for December 21, 2029, and the final, fifth film will be released on December 19, 2031.