James Cameron Says He'll Stop Making Avatar Movies If the Sequel Flops: We'll 'See What Happens'

Gabriel Olsen/Getty; Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation/Kobal/Shutterstock

James Cameron might abandon the Avatar franchise if the upcoming sequel doesn't meet box office expectations.

In an interview with Total Film, the director said how well the second film, Avatar: The Way of Water, performs when it hits theaters next month — 13 years after the record-breaking original — will dictate whether the series goes beyond the already-in-the-works third entry.

"The market could be telling us we're done in three months," Cameron said. "Or we might be semi-done, meaning: 'Okay, let's complete the story within movie three and not go on endlessly,' if it's just not profitable."

"We're in a different world now than we were when I wrote this stuff, even," he added. "It's the one-two punch, the pandemic and streaming. Or, conversely, maybe we'll remind people what going to the theater is all about."

Cameron said while The Way of Water "definitely does that," in delivering a one-of-a-kind movie theater experience, "the question is: how many people give a s--- now?"

RELATED: James Cameron Shows a New Side of Pandora in Wondrous Avatar: The Way of Water Trailer

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Cameron noted that the key aspects to making a sequel work are "to be surprising in ways that are not off-putting," before he revealed that he actually held some ideas for the upcoming sequel back to include in Avatar 3.

"There are a couple of things that I took out [of Avatar 2] that I want to shoehorn into movie three, hopefully," Cameron said. The director also admitted that the Avatar sequels "are hideously expensive movies" to make.

"It was a sketchy business case before the pandemic to make a movie that cost this much," Cameron said. "At this point, we just have to play it out to see what happens. But what I know right now is we're delivering three hours of a pretty much insane experience."

20th Century Studios

Cameron, who has directed iconic sequels like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Aliens plus beloved standalone films like Titanic, admitted before that the Avatar sequels are a box-office gamble and suggested in July that he may not even direct the series' later installments, should they come to fruition.

"The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming," Cameron told Empire at the time. "I've got some other things I'm developing as well that are exciting. I think eventually over time — I don't know if that's after three or after four — I'll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I'm also interested in. Or maybe not. I don't know."

"I got more excited as I went along," the director said about developing Avatar's sequels. "Movie four is a corker. It's a motherf-----. I actually hope I get to make it But it depends on market forces," he told Empire. "Three is in the can so it's coming out regardless. I really hope that we get to make four and five because it's one big story, ultimately."

Avatar: The Way of Water is in theaters Dec. 16.