Overview
- James Cameron says no generative AI was used on Avatar: Fire and Ash and vows the franchise will not use AI to replace actors, emphasizing performance-capture as actor-driven work.
- Early press reactions are largely positive on scale and visuals, with some dissenting views, and the film opens December 19 via Disney and 20th Century Studios.
- Cameron frames Fire and Ash as the end of the first Avatar saga and says films four and five depend on this installment’s performance, calling them "vaporware" even though scripts exist and part of Avatar 4 has been shot.
- He highlights grief and family as core themes and says making the film helped the team process real-life loss, including the death of longtime producer Jon Landau.
- Cameron warns of an "existential" risk from large AI systems, supports AI-assisted VFX through his Stability AI role, and is developing ideas for a new Terminator while noting the challenge posed by rapid real-world AI advances.